Looking for a new little angle
by Dellinah
Summary: After Fred's new invention accidentally turns Hiro into a five year old, Tadashi has to take care of his little brother by himself while trying to figure out a way to bring him back to normal with the help of his friends. But between challenges and babysitting, Tadashi will also find out that he means more to his younger brother than he could ever imagine.
1. Fred's invention

**Hello guys! I would like to thank you all for your support. My lastest four Big Hero 6 one-shots got a lot of attention and some people were asking for more (I have no idea why you'd ask me to write more, but thanks.)**

**So I've had this idea a few time ago. I wanted to write about Tadashi and young Hiro but I didn't want to make it an AU and somehow I wanted to make it last for a short period. This is what happened in my head. I hope this idea is not silly or anything.**

**This is my first fic for Big Hero 6 that isn't a one shot. I don't know how many chapters this will have, but it won't be very long. Maybe five or six.**

**That being said, enjoy!**

* * *

"Imagine eating a sandwich but everybody just thinks you're crazy!"

Hiro laughed at his brother's friends as Tadashi introduced him to everybody. He was amazed by the machines and all the experiences around him. There were even some things that were unknown to him. He was not going to say that out loud, but he had to admit to himself that "Nerd's school" wasn't so bad. And those students were quite funny; mainly Wasabi and Fred. Hiro wondered how people that were so different could be such good friends.

"Hiro."

The young boy turned around and saw Tadashi standing on the door, motioning for Hiro to follow him. Hiro shrugged and followed the elder brother outside the room, walking with him through a corridor. They didn't say a word as Tadashi stopped in front of a door - which Hiro supposed would lead to Tadashi's lab. The younger tilted his head when Tadashi tried to open the door but failed.

"What's wrong?"

"Hum, I think I locked it earlier and I left the key in my motorbike. Why don't you go back to our Nerd's lab while I go get it so I can show you what I've been working on?"

Tadashi tapped Hiro's head before turning around and walking toward the main door. The younger one shook his head and considered following Tadashi outside instead of going back to a room of people he didn't know very well, but in the end he decided to go back to the lab. The students were back to their activities, so focused that none of them seemed to notice that Hiro was back. Except for Fred, that lifted his eyes from the comic he was reading and put it aside when he saw the boy entering the room.

"Hiro! That was fast. What's Tadashi working on?"

"Hey, Fred. Actually I haven't seen it yet. He went outside to get the key of his lab."

"Oh, that's cool. I bet he's working on something very powerful and awesome!" He looked up, then his eyes widened and he smiled as he looked back to Hiro. "Hey, do you want to see something I've been working on?"

"You? I thought you weren't a student."

"Well..." Fred said as he wrapped his arm around Hiro's shoulders and guided him outside the nerd's lab, toward a small room. "I'm not. But there's this guy who agreed to work on something with me and he said it's ready."

"What is it?"

"Come with me!"

Hiro followed a jumpy Fred with a smile on his face. They didn't have to walk much, for Fred's lab was in the next door. It wasn't exactly a lab; it was just a room with a table and several things around it, such as another lizard costume, an old tennis racquet, a pair of shoes and several clothes on the floor. Everything was dusty and Hiro tried to ignore that odd smell. He watched as Fred took off his costume and walked to the table.

"_This _is what I have been working on!" He said as he grabbed some kind of gun that was lying on the table. It was blue and purple, and small enough to be held with one hand only. Hiro made his best not to roll his eyes. He had seen the gun when he entered the room, but he thought it was a toy. He should have known Fred couldn't be working on anything serious. He decided to play along and approached Fred.

"So... What does your machine do?" Hiro said, grabbing the gun. He was surprised that it was way heavier than it seemed, causing him to use his two hands to hold it. A toy couldn't be that heavy, could it?

"Ok, so, you know how some grown up people become boring when they get older? I mean, you're a super fun kid but when you grow up all you can think about is paying bills, responsibilities, jobs... I mean, ew. This little gun is supposed to make people get back their old happy lives."

"Hum, wait, this is supposed to make you happier? Like a kid?"

"Yes! You get it! I knew it was real science." Fred said, proudly folding his arms.

Hiro turned his head and analyzed the gun he held. The concept was pretty good, after all depression and stress were serious things on that decade, but he could tell it was not going to work; for such machine was yet to exist, but the smile on Fred's face made Hiro shrug and nod.

"Pretty cool." He said, giving the gun back to Fred.

"Wanna test it?"

"What?"

"I've wanted to test it on someone for a while now, but nobody wants to do it because 'it's not science'. Nerds. I need a volunteer! And you were the first one who used a nice word to describe it."

Hiro bit his lip. He knew it was not going to work, but playing with guns was no laughing matter. What if it shot something that could hurt him? Then again, it was not going to work anyway, maybe it shot water or something like that. And it had been made by a man whose dream was to be a fire-breathing lizard. He sighed and shrugged.

"So, what will happen to me?" He asked, putting his hands on his pockets.

"You'll be happy like a kid again. You know, like me."

"Sure." Hiro rolled his eyes with a smile.

"Do you want to test it?"

"Hit me with your best shot." Hiro said, shrugging once more.

* * *

Tadashi was about to enter the Nerd's lab when he heard an explosion. It wasn't big, and at first he thought it was just Honey Lemon exploding another mess of her tungsten carbine, but then he noticed it didn't seem to come from inside that door. It seemed to come from somewhere else. He shrugged and entered the room. He looked around and heard some mumbling; his friends were also looking around. Hiro was nowhere to be found.

"Hey, guys. What happened?"

"We don't know." GoGo said as she looked around, suspicious. "We were trying to figure out where that explosion came from. Did you hear it too?'

"Yeah. It must have been in some other room." He then sighed and looked around again. "Hum, did you guys see Hiro? I wanted to show him something..."

"I haven't seen him since you two left." Wasabi said.

"Hum." Tadashi looked down. "Hey, Honey Lemon, did you see him?"

"No, sorry. I was trying to figure out a way to melt this without using fire."

"GoGo?"

"Don't look at me, I was trying to fix my bike."

"Fred?"

Tadashi expected Fred to answer him, but the silence made him realize his friend wasn't there either.

"Fred?" He repeated. "Where's he?"

"He may have gone home."

In that moment, Fred entered the room, rubbing his hands nervously.

"Hey, guys!" He said, avoiding eye contact. "How are you?"

"Hey, Fred." Tadashi said. "Have you seen Hiro?"

"Yes, but..." He stopped in mid-sentence as he bit his lip.

GoGo finally looked at Fred and popped her gum.

"I know that look. He did something wrong. What is it?"

"Well, I didn't do anything wrong... On purpose. And nobody got hurt, isn't it all that matters?"

"Fred." Wasabi folded his arms after putting a small piece on its right place on its table. "What did you do this time?"

* * *

Fred and the rest of his friends were on the hallway as the school mascot tried to explain.

"You see, I was trying to test this invention of mine and..."

"An invention of yours?" GoGo said as she folded her arms. "So that explains the small explosion we heard a few minutes ago."

"Yes, that was me. But it didn't go... The way I planned."

"Fred, quit the piffle talk. What did you do?"

"Well... Here you go."

He opened the door and closed his eyes as all of his friends opened their mouths in surprise.

* * *

Tadashi blinked and tilted his head. He pinched his own arm and mouthed "Ow", meaning that it was happening for real, but he refused to believe it. No, it had to be a dream or some kind of joke. That couldn't be real life. Wasabi shook his head, GoGo chocked on her gumball and Honey Lemon thought that she should start wearing a surgical mask when working, because something chemical should be affecting her brain.

In the middle of the room, sitting on the floor next to the table, there was a small boy. He should be around four or five years old, his eyes looked up and he seemed to be scared and curious at the same time. He had a very familiar face, and all the friends soon realized that they were in fact looking at Hiro.

"Fred." Tadashi said with an unreadable expression, never taking his eyes off the infant. "What the hell did you do?"

"Well, you see… I was trying to test this machine I built with a friend of mine and Hiro volunteered..."

"You tested your invention on my brother?! Fred! Do you realize..."

Tadashi trailed off as he turned to his friend. He had to do his best to keep him from strangling Fred, his face going red in both anger and confusion. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, clenching his fists. After counting to ten, he was finally brave enough to turn his head again and face the baby once more as he tried to calm down. Honey Lemon was the first to approach Hiro. The baby shrank in fear and pouted, trying to hide behind the table. The blond girl made her best to smile and crouched down, wrapping her arms around Hiro and standing up. She tried to accommodate him, but he was fighting to get rid of her grip.

"Ok, you turned Hiro into a baby." GoGo said in disbelief. "How?"

"You see, I was trying to test this new invention and he volunteered. It was supposed to make people get back that happiness from their childhood and take away the stress of... 'Adulthood'. But it turned out... This way."

"Your invention. Fred, you were the man who tried to convince Honey to create a potion that would turn you into a lizard. How were you ever able of building something that actually worked? In a twisted way, I mean, but come on! You turned Hiro into a baby!" Wasabi said, trying to comprehend what was going on. "I didn't even know that was possible! It's just... How?"

"Well, I didn't do it on my own. You know that guy that used to study with you guys around three months ago? Red hair, a scar on his cheek..."

Everyone except for Fred and Hiro gasped in shock.

"What? You asked Andy 'Knucklehead' for help? Are you crazy?! We all know that guy isn't normal! I don't even know how he hasn't been expelled yet! You can't just go and ask him to help you to build you something like that! I wouldn't recommend saying 'good morning' to him, leave alone asking him for help!" GoGo said, nearly chocking on her gum again. "How could you be so irresponsible?"

Fred shrugged and looked up.

"Actually, we haven't seen him in weeks. I've heard he ran away because the police was trying to find him." Wasabi sighed, folding his arms. "I don't even want to know what that guy did this time."

"Well, he sure knows science..." Fred rubbed his hands.

Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted by a small wail. Little Hiro, who was on Honey's arms, started to get fussy. He tried to escape the girl's embrace, but she made her best to hold him tighter and keep him from falling.

"Hey, what's wrong, buddy?"

The baby put his hands on her shoulder and started to push himself away. He didn't want to be held, left alone be held by a stranger. He snorted and shook his legs, an angry expression on his face. He looked around the room and pouted, never quitting his efforts to escape her arms. It was when he laid his eyes on a tall boy with black hair and a cap. For a moment, he stopped fighting and gave a smile.

"D-D-Da..." The little boy uttered.

"Hum?" Honey said, trying to hold him in a confortable way again.

"Da... Das..."

"I think he's trying to say something. What is it, buddy?" Fred asked, approaching Honey and looking at the fidgety kid.

"Dashi!" He spilled out at last, shaking his legs. "Dashi! Dashi!" He reached out for Tadashi, who was standing a few feet away from Honey. He had a happy expression on his face, his big brown eyes sparkling as his hands tried to grab his older brother.

"I think he wants you, big brother." Honey giggled, approaching the older Hamada.

"What?"

"Dashi!" He called again, annoyed when he realized Tadashi wasn't moving closer to grab him like he wanted. He clapped his hands happily when Honey started walking toward his older brother, reaching out again and trying to touch Tadashi, who sighed and positioned his arms.

"Be careful, he's a little shaky. He might try to get out of your arms." The girl said.

Honey slowly handed Tadashi the kid, who was getting fussier by the second until he found himself in his brother's arms. His grumpy expression was soon replaced by a smile; he wrapped his arms around Tadashi's neck and buried his face on his brother's chest, letting out a relieved sigh and a yawn. The oldest brother blinked in surprise. He could remember his brother was very fussy when he was a baby, so he didn't expect Hiro to calm down out of nowhere.

"Aw..." All of Tadashi's friends said, tilting their heads as they watched the baby peacefully sleeping in Tadashi's arms.

"Guys! Focus! We have to concentrate here! My brother is five years old; we have to find a way to bring him back to his normal age, and fast! It doesn't matter how cute he is when he's..." Tadashi trailed off when he looked down and saw the infant in his arms, as peaceful as an angel. "Aw..." He then snapped back to reality and shook his head. "We have to find a way to fix this thing and bring him back to normal!"

GoGo held the gun and looked at it with a disgusted expression; Honey put her hand on her chin as she analyzed it.

"It's not my major, but... I think I can find a way to reverse this. I'll need everyone's help, though. I just need to find out what kind of chemistry that guy used to build this formula."

"Well, sure. Just tell me what I have to do and..."

Tadashi was interrupted again when Hiro let out another wail, this time louder. He rubbed his head on his brother's chest before opening his eyes and looking up at Tadashi's eyes, a grumpy expression on his face. His eyes were half open, showing he was tired.

"Dashi..." He moaned as he sighed and tightened the hug.

Tadashi tilted his head.

"I think the poor guy here is sleepy. You should take him home."

"What? I can't take him home! How do you guys expect me to carry a baby on a motorbike?"

"I can give you a ride, buddy." Wasabi said, putting his hand on Tadashi's shoulder. "Wait, what is your aunt going to say about this?"

"Don't worry, aunt Cass left the city for a week. She went to visit our grandmother earlier today because she's sick. It means we have one week to fix this. If she sees Hiro like this, you guys can say 'R.I.P Tadashi'." He said as he sighed. "Maybe we can start working on it tomorrow?"

"Sure. Don't worry, Tadashi. We're going to find a way. I'm going to keep this somewhere safe before someone else is turned into a baby here." GoGo said, being careful not to touch the trigger. "Now we all should go home. It's late and this little guy here seems to need some sleep." She said as she rubbed Hiro's head, that lied against Tadashi's shoulder.

The older Hamada sighed and nodded. They left the room and turned off the lights. He waved goodbye as he followed Wasabi to his car. He made his best to enter on the back seat with Hiro on his arms, trying not to wake the little boy up. As his friend started to drive toward Tadashi's house, he looked down at his baby brother and bit his lip. He could feel that it was going to be one crazy week.

* * *

"Here we are." Wasabi said as he parked the car and opened the doors of the car. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yes." Tadashi sighed as he left the car. The baby wailed a little when he stood up, but rubbed his face on Tadashi's shirt and went back to sleep. "I mean, he's already sleepy anyway. How difficult can it be? Besides, we're going to turn him back to normal tomorrow, right? It's just for one night."

"We'll try, buddy. Well, call any of us if you need anything."

"Thanks." Tadashi said and nodded as he walked up to the doorway. He watched as Wasabi drove away before reaching the key on his right pocket, trying to hold Hiro with one arm only. After a few fumbling tries, he finally managed to put the key in the lock of the door and turn it, entering the cafe.

"Ok, Hiro, we're home." Tadashi said with a nervous smile on his face as the baby blinked and looked around in curiosity, still sleepy. He went up the stairs and entered their room, sighing.

Tadashi put Hiro on his bed, helping him to lay down and covering him with the blanket. After Hiro seemed to be asleep, Tadashi sat down on the chair and put his hand over the bridge of his nose, letting out another sigh before closing his tired eyes. He needed some sleep and he was about to go to his bed when he felt something on his leg.

Startled for a moment, he looked down and saw his little brother sitting on the floor as he tugged Tadashi's pants.

"Hey, buddy. I didn't hear you leaving your bed. What's wrong?"

"Dashi." Hiro tilted his head and reached out, something Tadashi took as meaning "Grab me". He obeyed his little brother and soon the baby was snuggled up in Tadashi's lap.

"I honestly don't know what I'm going to do, Hiro. I have no idea how to take proper care of you and there isn't anyone I can ask for help. I'll do my best, ok? I don't know how long you're going to be like this, you could be back to normal tomorrow... Or it can last _a little _longer. Either way, I'm here, buddy. We're in this together, right?"

"Dashi." Hiro smiled.

"It's Tadashi." The older giggled. "Can you say it? Ta-Dashi. Ta. Say it with me."

Hiro put his tongue to his palate and forced it down.

"T-T-Tsh..."

"Ta..." Tadashi giggled again.

"Tashi!" Hiro said, clapping his hands, proud of himself.

"Ok, young man. You don't need to know how to say my name. Not yet, anyway."

"Tashi-Dashi." He smiled. "Dashi."

"Guess we're sticking with Dashi." He giggled. "I like the sound of it."

The young Hiro smiled.

"Time to sleep now, buddy. We have to wake up early tomorrow."

He stood up and put Hiro on his bed again, making sure he was confortable before going to his own bed. Tadashi took off his cap and put it on the nightstand beside his bed. He lied down and grabbed his blanket, but when he was about to turn off the light he saw Hiro standing near the separation blind.

"Hiro." He looked up and sighed. "It's time to sleep."

"Hun-gy." The baby uttered.

"What?" Tadashi said, rubbing his eyes.

"Hun-gy!" Hiro said, stomping his foot.

"You mean you're hungry? Oh, come on!"

Hiro pouted at his brother's tone, what made Tadashi feel guilty. He stood up and took Hiro's hand, walking with him to the kitchen. Tadashi rubbed his hair and tried to wake himself up, his eyelids going down, but he needed to feed his brother. He felt like it was a bad idea to give him anything sugary so late at night, so he walked up to the fridge as Hiro sat down on a chair and shook his legs happily. He could barely reach the table being five years old.

"Do you want some milk?"

Hiro nodded.

Tadashi smiled and put a glass on the microwave. He watched his brother as the microwave heated the milk and had to admit Hiro was super cute as a five year old. He could barely remember Hiro being that small once Tadashi was only four years older than him and their aunt Cass was a little too protective of Hiro when he was a baby; therefore he didn't get to spend much time with him before Hiro was ten. He snapped back to reality when the microwave started to beep

"Here." He said, putting the glass in front of Hiro as he sat down himself. He watched the baby drink it quickly in fast gules before holding his brother's hand softly.

"Now, now, you don't want to have a tummy ache, do you?"

"Dashi!" He wailed when the older kept him from drinking.

"Drink slower, ok?"

"Ok..." The baby uttered again before going back to drinking it. He used both of his small hands to hold the cup, which was a little too big for him. Tadashi kept his hands close to Hiro's face, in case he dropped the cup or anything. When he was done, he let out a yawn and a small burp that made Tadashi go "aw". Hiro wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt and reached out for Tadashi.

"Dashi..." He said, sleepy.

The older sibling stood up and picked Hiro up from his chair, going back to their room. Hiro let out a happy sigh as Tadashi laid him down on his bed for the second time that night, but for the first time Hiro actually closed his eyes and snuggled up on his bed. Tadashi rubbed his brother's hair as Hiro yawned one last time and reached out for the stuffed animal on the desk. It was had been there since they were kids, but Hiro hadn't held it in years. It was a robot that Tadashi had given Hiro as a gift for his sixth birthday.

"Night, Hiro." Tadashi said as he stood up.

"Night, Dashi." Hiro said, closing his eyes. Within seconds, he had finally allowed himself to fall asleep.

Tadashi looked at his brother sleeping as he turned off the light. He didn't stop looking at him until he found himself in his bed, ready to sleep. It took him a while to finally close his eyes, just to make sure Hiro wasn't going to stand up again. He let out a sigh and turned off the last light, leaving the room in total darkness. Before he could finally fall asleep, he spent a few minutes reflecting on what had happened that day, and deep inside he hoped that was all just a dream, but he knew it was all real.

* * *

**This turned a little different than I expected. Poor Tadashi, first night with little Hiro and he's already tired. This will most likely tell how Tadashi manages to take of his baby brother without having any experience on the subject while he and his friends try to figure out a way to bring Hiro back to his normal age. Yeah, it sounds a little boring, but writing it was fun.**

**Let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!**


	2. The classic version

**I decided to update this today since I'll go to school tomorrow and won't be able to write at all. Transition chapters are a little boring to write, but they are necessary for the story to happen. Well, I hope you like it!**

* * *

The sun was starting to rise when Tadashi's alarm clock started to beep at 6:30am. He rolled on his bed, sleepy, and buried his face on his pillow after letting out a tired moan. He started to tap the night stand beside his bed, trying to find the alarm clock without opening his eyes. After a few failed tries, he finally managed to hit the button to turn it off.

He rolled over again to lay on his back and rubbed his eyes, looking to the ceiling. It was when realization hit him and he gasped awake on the bed, his heart beating fast as he turned his head to look at Hiro's bed. Tadashi wasn't sure of what he was expecting; but a small part of him was still hoping to find his brother with fourteen years old like it should be, and the night before would have been a dream. He gulped when he saw that Hiro's bed was empty, the blanket was on the floor and the pillow was still crumpled, so Hiro had just left it.

"Hiro?" Tadashi called, looking around the room. He stood up and walked to Hiro's part of the room, and soon realized that his brother wasn't there. He ran to the bathroom, only to find that it was empty. "Hiro, where are you?" Tadashi bit his lip and took a deep breath. He was starting to get worried when he heard a familiar beep coming from the kitchen. He glanced at the room door and realized it was open, meaning that Hiro had left the room.

Tadashi frowned and jogged downstairs. He was still trying to comprehend that Hiro, his younger brother, was now five years old. He couldn't help but be scared of that situation. When they were younger, Tadashi made a promise to himself: that he would take care of his brother no matter what. But how was he supposed to do it now when he had no help at all and no experience with kids whatsoever?

Tadashi sighed in relief when he finally got to the bottom of the staircase. He saw that Hiro was five years old - which meant it hadn't been a dream, after all - but he was fine. He was sitting on the table... Reading a book? The older brother tilted his head in confusion. Not only Hiro was drinking milk that he had prepared himself, but he was also reading a book. The younger didn't seem to notice his brother standing behind him until Tadashi started to walk toward the table.

"Hiro?"

"Dashi? Dashi!" Hiro left the table and ran toward his brother, jumping happily and reaching out, grasping at the air in his hands as Tadashi raised an eyebrow and dodged his little brother, going to the table where Hiro was sitting before. The younger frowned in annoyance, folding his arms. Tadashi leaned on the table and closed the book Hiro was reading to look at its title.

"A Christmas Carol?" Tadashi said, holding the book and turning to his brother. "_You _were reading A Christmas Carol? The classic version?"

Hiro nodded, still frowning, but unfolding his arms. Tadashi knelt down and looked Hiro in the eye.

"Are you telling me you can read?" Tadashi said, looking at the book and at his brother several times.

Hiro tilted his head and frowned more, nodding again. Tadashi opened his mouth in surprise, refusing to believe that. Before he could do anything else, Hiro took the book off Tadashi's hand and put it back on the table, opening his arms and smiling. "Dashi!"

Tadashi shrugged and hugged his younger brother, standing up and sitting in a chair with Hiro on his lap. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the clock: 6:42. He needed to go to college and find a way to take care of Hiro. He didn't know if it was ok to take his brother with him, but he couldn't leave a five year old alone. Tadashi sighed and stood up again; grabbing the phone and dialing Wasabi's number while Hiro wrapped his arms around Tadashi's neck.

The phone rang three times before Tadashi heard Wasabi's voice on the other end. By his sleepy tone Tadashi could tell that he had just woke up.

"Hello?" Wasabi said, after a yawn.

"Hey, Wasabi." Tadashi said as Hiro put his head on his brother's shoulder. "Sorry if I woke you up."

"No problem, I was about to wake up anyway. Is everything alright? Did anything happen to Hiro?"

"No, no, we're ok. I just want to know if you can give me a ride to college today. Because I had to leave my motorbike there yesterday."

"Sure. I'll be there in fifteen minutes. What are you going to do with Hiro?"

"Well..." Tadashi sighed as he looked to the boy in his arm. "I think I'll just take him with me. I mean I took him there when he was fourteen, why should there be a problem with taking him there now that he's five?" Tadashi blinked. "Yes, I know that sentence is weird. But there's nobody to take care of him and I can't leave him alone. Also, we have to start working on a way to bring him back to normal."

Tadashi could hear Wasabi sighing and stretching on the other end before finally saying. "Yes, good plan. How hard can it be, right? I'll be there in no time."

"Thank you, buddy. I'll just brush my hair. See yah."

"See yah."

Tadashi hung up and put the phone down. Then he put Hiro on the floor, looking down at him. "Ok, young man, looks like you and I are going to college today. We need to get ready. Can you please help me and do your best to obey your brother?" He said, showing Hiro his fist. "Fist bump."

"Fist bump!" Hiro repeated the gesture.

"Good." Tadashi smiled. "Now come on, buddy. We can't go to college without brushing our teeth." He said as he took Hiro's hand and went upstairs again.

* * *

Tadashi was brushing his teeth in the bathroom and Hiro was sitting on his bed as he put on his sneakers. He fought with the shoelaces, never managing to make a good knot. He punched the mattress in annoyance.

"Dashi! Help." He called.

The older brother wiped his mouth with a towel before entering the room again.

"What's it, Hiro?"

"I can't tie. My shoe. Help." He said, pointing at his untied shoelaces.

"Ok, ok." Tadashi said as he knelt down in front of Hiro. The little boy watched in curiosity and admiration, like if his brother was about to make a scientific discovery rather than tie a shoe. "There." Tadashi said, standing up when he had finished. Hiro stood up as well and looked down at his feet before jumping out of bed and wrapping his arms around Tadashi's legs in a hug.

"Thank you. You're the best brother ever! Dashi."

Tadashi looked down at the boy hugging his legs in surprise. He had already noticed that Hiro seemed to be a little more talkative that morning. Unlike the previous night, he was speaking a few more words than just 'Dashi' and he was starting to speak full sentences. Well, at least he seemed to be trying. But at the same time, he didn't seem to be accomplishing it the way he should be. Being 5 years old, Tadashi expected him to be able to speak better. Did it mean there was something wrong with Hiro? If so, was it because of Fred's invention or was it just about Hiro?

The older brother snapped back to reality when Hiro released his legs and looked up at his brother, smiling. Tadashi shook his head and turned around to grab his backpack on the corner of his bed, taking Hiro's hand and leading his brother downstairs. Tadashi opened the door that led to the café and felt Hiro's hand slip from his. He turned his head and saw that Hiro was staring at the balcony.

Tadashi tilted his head and slapped his forehead. "Oh, no. I forgot to give you something to eat!" Tadashi was used to go to college without having breakfast. He preferred to wait and eat something there in the snack bar. But he should have known Hiro wasn't going to be as patient. "Are you hungry?" Hiro looked at his brother, nodded and looked back at the balcony. He was practically eating the treats on the display with his eyes.

"Fine." Feeling guilty, Tadashi walked around the balcony and grabbed a donut for Hiro. "Don't tell Aunt Cass, ok? I promise I'll pay for this later. And don't assume these treats here are for you just because you're cute." Tadashi giggled. He watched as the infant jumped happily and grabbed the candy, eating it happily as his mouth got smeared with chocolate.

"I never knew you liked sweet things, Hiro. I mean, except for Gummy bears." Tadashi laughed when Hiro's head perked up at the mention of his favorite candy, but he quickly went back to eating his donut when he realized there were no real Gummy bears there. "If I knew it when you were still fourteen, I would have invited you to eat some candies with me, you know."

As Hiro finished his treat, Tadashi wondered what was going on his brother's mind. Did Hiro comprehend that he wasn't a 'normal' five year old boy? Did he know he should be fourteen? Or for him it was like he had never been a teenager? He sure wasn't acting like he used to when he was fourteen. For one thing, he never hugged Tadashi. Teen Hiro hated human touch or even feelings for that matter. But that very morning he had called Tadashi "Best brother ever", which was an unusual saying for someone like Hiro. Well, at least for someone like teen Hiro.

Tadashi couldn't help but think how Hiro was all fussy the previous night, but calmed down when Tadashi was the one holding him. Why? It could just be that Hiro wanted to be held by someone he knew instead of being held by a total stranger, but was there something else to it? After all, he did ask Tadashi to hold him quite a few times already, even when there were no strangers around.

"Dashi?"

"Hum? Oh." Tadashi shook his head, trying to keep those thoughts out of his mind. He looked down at Hiro and laughed, grabbing a paper towel on the balcony and kneeling down. He held Hiro's face with one hand and wiped the chocolate in the boy's mouth with the other, making Hiro let out a complaining grunt and turn his head from side to side as he tried to make his brother stop. "Dashi!"

"Sorry, young man, but you can't go to college with your mouth like that." Tadashi laughed as he threw the used paper towel in the trash can. Hiro folded his arms and pouted, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. It was when they heard a car horn and Tadashi looked to the door. Through the glass, he could see Wasabi's car and his friend waving, calling him. Tadashi nodded and turned to Hiro.

"Well, young man, time to go!"

"Dashi!" Hiro jumped again, taking his brother's hand as they finally left the café.

* * *

Tadashi was on the front seat beside Wasabi. He had accommodated Hiro on the back seat, and the little boy looked to the window, amazed by the view he was having. He thought San Fransokyo was quite beautiful. After Tadashi put on his belt, Wasabi turned the key and started to drive.

"I guess Hiro is doing fine?" The driver asked, looking back at the smiling boy.

"Yeah, he is. But I've been thinking a lot." Tadashi said, looking at the window by his side.

"About what?"

"Well, this morning I woke up and found Hiro downstairs reading."

"Hum, that's good, I suppose? He's five now, isn't he? That's when they start to read."

"No, you don't understand. He was reading my copy of 'A Christmas Carol'. The classic version. And when I asked if he could actually read it, he nodded."

"The classic version? Wow. Even I have problems reading that old English." Wasabi said, skeptical.

"Exactly. And I was wondering, do you think he knows he isn't a normal five year old? Do you think he knows he should be fourteen? I mean, there's no way a kid could read and understand that book, right?"

"He could be a fourteen year old in the body of a five year old boy, I guess. I still don't know how Fred's invention worked or what it did to Hiro. It would make sense, but then why would he be acting like a kid? If he knew he is supposed to be fourteen, shouldn't he be behaving like a teenager?"

Tadashi slowly nodded as he thought more. He glanced at the boy on the back seat and realized Hiro was still looking through the window.

"This morning, he couldn't tie his shoes without my help. And... He doesn't seem to be speaking like a five year old should be. At this age, I think he should be able to formulate full sentences, but he barely speaks as it is. But at the same time, he was able to make himself milk and read a book I wasn't able to fully understand until I was sixteen. I just don't understand how old he is right now on his mind."

"I see." Wasabi said as they stopped at a red light. "Well, he could be somewhere in between... Or maybe... No, I guess not."

"What?" Tadashi asked.

"Well, this is just a theory, but... You told me once he graduated high school when he was thirteen, right?"

"Yes, he did. Why?"

"Because... What if he has always been a prodigy? Was he that smart when he was five? Hum, when he was five for the first time, I mean. Weren't you like nine years old back then? What do you remember?"

"Hum, not much. I never spent much time with Hiro before he was ten. And all we did together was play. I don't remember anything about him that wasn't related to his abilities to play soccer." Tadashi sighed. "I should call Aunt Cass and ask her if he was a prodigy later. But how can I do it without sounding suspicious? Do you know what would happen if she knew what happened to Hiro? She would die!" He put his hand to his forehead and sighed again. "Better saying, she would come home, kill me and _then _she would die."

"It wasn't your fault, Tadashi. And more, we are going to fix this. Honey Lemon and GoGo are already there and they might be analyzing the gun by now. Who knows, we may get there and they'll have the cure already." Wasabi smiled.

"Yeah, who knows, maybe."

"Dashi." Hiro called from behind.

"Yes, buddy?" Tadashi said, turning his head to look at his brother.

"Are you alright?" He asked, forcing his tongue to pronounce the 'r' correctly.

"Hum, sure. What about you? Are you alright?"

Hiro nodded before looking at the window again. Tadashi blinked in confusion, but shrugged.

"Well, we're here." Wasabi said when they finally saw the college and he started to park the car.

* * *

Tadashi held Hiro in his arms and entered the college, Wasabi by his side. He hoped nobody would ask about the kid or tell him that he couldn't take him there. He tried to ignore that looks the other students were giving him; some in confusion or curiosity, others were rather judgmental. He rolled his eyes and walked straight to the Nerd's lab.

The older Hamada let out a relieved sigh when he saw that the only students in the lab were his friends. Probably because it was still so early. He put Hiro on the floor and walked up to GoGo, who was trying to develop a new wheel for her bike. He glanced at her table and saw that familiar gun there.

"Hey, GoGo. What's up?"

"Tadashi. Good to know you could come today, despite what happened."

"Yeah, it was kind of easy to take care of Hiro for the night. So, did you take a look at the gun already?"

GoGo sighed, and Tadashi knew she couldn't be about to say anything good.

"I did. I was waiting for Wasabi to arrive so he could help me to disassemble it to see how it works. But I can see that it's very complex already. Who would ever guess that Andy 'Knucklehead' could do something like that? But once we have it disassembled, Honey Lemon can try to figure out what's in that formula. Whatever it is, it can't be easy. Or good. Or legal." She said as she popped her gumball. She then glanced aside. "By the way, you should watch your brother."

"Hum? What do you m..." Tadashi trailed off as he turned around and saw that Hiro was walking toward Wasabi's work area, approaching the laser-induced plasma panel. The older brother gasped and ran, grabbing Hiro's shirt before he could cross the line on the floor.

"Hiro! We don't walk near things that can kill us!" Tadashi said, sighing. Hiro tilted his head and looked up at his brother. "Just... Don't walk around here when I'm not near you, ok? There are some things here that could hurt you." The younger one frowned and looked back at Fred's working area, still confused. "Ok, Dashi." He then reached out, tugging on his brother's shirt.

"Do you want me to grab you again?" Tadashi asked as Hiro nodded. He took the boy in his arms while Wasabi approached them. "Hey, Wasabi. Do you think you can help GoGo and I to disassemble the gun?"

"Hum, I would love to, but... I have to finish this by the end of the day for one of my classes. Do you think we can start it later?"

"Later? But..." Tadashi trailed off and sighed. He knew his friends couldn't stop what they were working on to work on that gun, but at the same time, he was afraid he wouldn't have enough time to bring Hiro back to normal if they didn't start it right away. "Ok. I understand. I have to work on a project myself, so... I'll go to my lab. When you guys are done, can you please go there and tell me?"

"Of course." Wasabi said.

"We will." GoGo assured. "In fact, I'm even curious to see how that gun works. I'm going to finish this as fast as I can."

"Same here." Honey Lemon waved happily. "Don't worry, Tadashi. We're going to help you."

Tadashi smiled and nodded as he looked to his brother. "What do you say, buddy? Do you want to see where you big brother works?"

"Dashi!" Hiro smiled, wrapping his arms around Tadashi's neck.

"I'll take that as a yes." He said as he put Hiro down and took his hand, walking up to GoGo's table and grabbing the gun. "Hum, I'm going to take this with me, by the way. I don't want it wandering around a lab full of people that don't know what it does. We can't risk losing it before we turn Hiro back to normal. I may even try to analyze it myself."

"Ok, but be careful. _Don't _pull the trigger and _don't_ let this boy here play with it. If you turn into a baby as well, I'm not going to change your diapers. One little Hamada is more than enough for me." GoGo said, giggling as she caressed Hiro's head.

"Don't worry." He laughed. "I won't pull the trigger. Young man, don't even think about touching this, ok?"

Hiro looked at the gun his brother held. "Purple gun."

"Yes, pretty much. But don't touch it, ok?" Tadashi started to walk as Hiro held his hand and jumped by his side. The older one waved goodbye to his friends and nodded before leaving the room. Hiro smiled and looked up at his brother all the time, only breaking eye contact to look around at the college and the several machines and gears that were carried by the other students.

"Dashi works here?"

Tadashi blinked and looked down at his brother, surprised that he was actually asking him something.

"Hum, yes, Dashi... I mean, I work here. Pretty cool, isn't it?"

Hiro's jaw dropped as he nodded. Tadashi couldn't help but smile. He released Hiro's hand to open the door of his lab once they had arrived, careful not to take his eyes off his brother long enough to allow him to run away or escape. Hiro kept looking at the opening door, excited to see what there was behind it.

"Well, Hiro, this is my lab. This is where your big brother works."

The young boy gasped as he blinked and looked around, entering the room even before Tadashi could do it. He ran to the several boxes and sketches, curious and eager to touch and see everything. Tadashi laughed as he entered the room and closed the door behind him, putting the gun on the highest shelf before grabbing Hiro and sitting in a chair with the boy on his lap.

"Now, now, Hiro; let's get to the rules. I know you're very smart boy and I know you can understand me. Rule number one, no touching things I didn't say you can touch, ok? Rule number two, you can't leave this room without me. If you need to go to the bathroom or something, tell me. Rule number three... Actually, there are only two rules. You should be fine if you obeyed those. Ok?"

Hiro nodded and Tadashi sighed.

"Hey, we're doing this, buddy. We're doing this. I don't think we'll have any kind of problem." The older one smiled as he tapped Hiro's back. The silence was broken when Tadashi's phone started to ring. He reached out for it on his pocket and pulled it out. His smile faded away and was replaced by a panic expression when he saw who was calling him on the screen.

_Aunt Cass._

He looked at Hiro, who nonchalantly bobbed his head along the ringtone.

"Yeah, I take that back. This could be a problem." Tadashi said as he bit his lip.

* * *

**I was going to write more, but I decided to finish this chapter here. Thank you guys for all the support! If you like this, please check my other Big Hero 6 fanfics. They were the reason I decided to write something that wasn't a one-shot for once. I'll try to update this soon, because it's really relaxing and fun. Upcoming holidays may help me!**

**Thank you for reading, I hope you liked it!**


	3. Fluffy robot

**It looks like this fic will be longer than I had planned at first. Not only it got quite a good amount of feedback (Thanks to everyone who followed/favorited/reviewed this so far. You guys rock!) but also I've been having a lot of ideas for this. I adore Tadashi and Hiro's relationship, it's being fun to explore it for a new angle.**

**Why do I always fall for the characters who die? Honestly, I need to stop it.**

* * *

Tadashi stared at his phone, which kept ringing and buzzing in his hand. He knew that he needed to answer the call; otherwise Aunt Cass would be worried. Tadashi was always with his phone and he always answered calls; unless something serious had happened or he had fallen asleep working late again.

Hiro was still in his lap, smiling as he looked around him. Tadashi tapped Hiro's shoulder, causing the younger to look at him, and put his finger to his mouth asking for silence. Hiro nodded and kept looking around at the several things his brother had in his lab.

With his heart beating fast in both fear and jitters, Tadashi finally moved his thumb to hit the 'answer' button and took a deep breath before lifting his hand to his ear. He felt like his tongue was heavier than ever and there was something locking his throat, but he finally gulped and started speaking.

"Hello. Tadashi Hamada here." He made his best to sound relaxed and worry-free, but he was glad Cass couldn't see him through the phone. His eyes were fluttering and his smile was anything but true. All he could do was hope he was doing a better job with disguising his nervous voice.

"Tadashi!" Aunt Cass said happily on the other end. "Sorry to be calling so early. I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"No, not at all. How's grandma?" He asked, sounding a little more relaxed.

"She's fine. You know how neurotic she can be. Honestly, I think it's just a cold and the woman is overreacting. But I'll stay here until the end of the week anyway. Maybe a little longer than that."

_Thanks Heaven_, Tadashi thought.

"No rush." Tadashi laughed in a nervous tone, trying to sound natural. "Stay there as long as you want. Everything here's fine. Totally ok. No problem at all."

Tadashi could almost see Aunt Cass raising her eyebrow through the phone because of his awkwardness. He would have slapped himself in the face if he wasn't on the phone.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Aunt Cass said, worried.

"Yes." He sighed. "I'm just a little stressed with college, that's all. I swear." Tadashi felt his throat being locked again. Lying was definitely something he wasn't good at or something he did very often. The last time he had done it he was even younger than Hiro. Well, teen Hiro. He lied about eating a candy and confessed three minutes later because he was feeling guilty. However, he couldn't confess this time. His aunt could be ok about a stolen candy, but she surely wouldn't be about Hiro being a baby.

"Ok. Don't work too hard, now. I don't want to find you snoring into your books again." She giggled at the memory. "Hum, how's Hiro?"

Tadashi's eyes widened and he felt his heart beat fast again. He bit his lower lip and looked at his brother, who seemed to be very interested in a piece of a failed robot Tadashi had tried to build the week before. Hiro couldn't be more peaceful, Tadashi couldn't be more anxious.

"Oh, Hiro? He's fine." It was all he was able to say.

"Good. How did things go with him today? He isn't giving you a hard time, is he?"

"Hum, no, not at all. I left him sleeping at home. He never wakes up early, you know." Tadashi knew his aunt couldn't see him, but he couldn't help forcing a smile to assure it was everything alright. Maybe he was trying to convince himself rather than convince Cass.

Before she could answer, Hiro left Tadashi's lap to walk away from his brother, wanting to get that piece he had been staring at for the last minutes. It shouldn't have been a problem, but when Hiro touched the floor he let out a wail and a moan, loud enough for Cass to hear through the phone.

"Was that a baby?" She asked.

Tadashi straightened up in a second and took a deep breath. "Hum, no, it's just... A movie."

"Aren't you at college now?"

"I am, but..." He looked around as he tried to come with a believable excuse. "Fred brought his laptop and... One of our teachers is sick and we have some free time. So we're watching a movie." Tadashi crossed his fingers and hoped Cass would believe his words.

"Oh, ok. I'm going to hang up now; I don't want to keep you busy on your free time."

Tadashi was about to say bye when he looked at Hiro. The boy was in the middle of the room, holding that piece like it was the most interesting thing he had ever seen. Tadashi blinked and took a deep breath.

"Actually, Aunt Cass, I want you ask you something. If you don't need to leave right away."

"Hum, sure. What is it?"

"Well..." He closed his eyes and stood up, walking around the room. "When Hiro was around five or six years old, was he a normal kid?"

There was silence on the other end that Tadashi took as meaning his aunt was surprised by the question or hadn't understood it. Maybe both.

"What do you mean by 'a normal kid'?" She asked at last.

"Did he act like he was supposed to act?"

Silence again. All Tadashi could hear was his own breath.

"Why are you asking that?"

"I was looking at some old pictures last night and... I... I don't know. I think I may remember something that made me believe he wasn't like he was supposed to be when he was around five. Or four."

_And the Oscar for worst liar of the year goes to... _Tadashi thought as he felt his face going red. He could build a robot in a day, but he couldn't come up with a decent excuse. He thought Cass wasn't going to buy it, but he was surprised when she started speaking after a short silence.

"Actually, he wasn't exactly normal. I don't know why, maybe your parents' death affected him somehow; even more than it affected you, but he was so young... He was a pretty smart kid, after all he did graduate high school when he was thirteen, but he seemed so... I don't know, distant. He could understand everything going on around him, but he could barely speak and he was very needy. He wasn't able to fully talk until he was around ten. I took him to a few doctors, but... There was never anything wrong with him. He just refused to talk and acted that way."

Tadashi could almost see his aunt's worried look. Silence lasted for a few seconds as Tadashi looked to his young brother sitting on the floor. He tried to reflect on what he had just learnt, but shook his head and snapped back to reality.

"Oh, ok. I was just curious, that's it."

"You know," Cass continued. "I was very protective of him when he was a baby. Maybe because I was afraid he'd never be normal, I don't know. He was always so fussy, it was nearly impossible to hold him. When he was around ten, I started to calm down and stopped being so protective. Or maybe I was giving up on him." She sighed. "And it was when he started to get obsessed with you. He always called you 'Dashi', remember that? He was crazy for you." Cass stopped to sigh again, but then Tadashi thought he also heard a soft giggle. "I think he started to develop better after he started having more contact with you."

Tadashi blinked and gulped. He looked at the little boy on the floor again. Hiro was lying down on his back, holding the piece above his face as he examined it. Could it be true? Was Tadashi the reason Hiro started to actually grow like he should?

"That's cool, Aunt Cass. It made me happy. Thank you. Sorry if I brought any sad memories."

"No, it's ok. I'm glad you asked it. I'll call again later, ok? Tell Hiro I said hi."

"I will. Bye, Aunt Cass. Good luck with grandma."

"Good luck with Hiro. You may need some. Goodbye."

_If you only knew it, Aunt Cass. _Tadashi thought as he smiled and finally hung up. He collapsed on the chair, relieved, as Hiro stood up and dropped the piece, walking up to Tadashi. The boy put his hands together and rubbed them, gulping and taking a deep breath.

"Ta... Dashi."

The older brother's eyes shot open as he looked down, tilting his head.

"What did you say?"

"I said..." Hiro forced his tongue against his palate a few times, trying to say the "T" again, but failed. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve before folding his arms, disappointed. "I said Dashi."

Tadashi smiled and grabbed the boy, putting Hiro in his lap again.

"It's ok, buddy. You'll learn it someday."

Hiro shrugged and smiled, looking at his brother. Tadashi caressed Hiro's hair as he sighed, hugging his brother. Hiro happily wrapped his arms around his older brother in return.

"What am I going to do with you, Hiro?"

"Dashi. T-T-T... Tadashi." The boy muttered under his breath with a smile.

* * *

Tadashi was about to put Hiro back on the floor when someone knocked on the door. It startled him for a moment, but he sighed when he saw his friends entering his lab.

"Hey, Tadashi."

"Hey, guys. Are you ready to work on the gun?"

"Actually we came here to call you. Professor Callaghan is giving a lecture in the room 102 and you need to go."

"What? But I can't leave Hiro alone."

"Dashi?" Hiro asked, tilting his head with a sad expression. Tadashi stood up with the boy on his arms and tapped Hiro's back to calm him down.

"Any of you can keep an eye on him?"

"I can do it!" Fred said.

"GoGo, can you take care of Hiro?" Tadashi asked, ignoring the blond boy.

"Sorry." She shrugged. "I need to go to the lecture too. It's not about my major, but it could help me to build my bike."

"Hum, I said I can do it." Fred raised his hand.

"And you, Honey Lemon?" The older Hamada turned to the blonde girl.

"I have to go back to my lab and work more if I want to finish my project in time. I could take Hiro with me, but keeping a five year old boy in a lab full of chemistry doesn't sound like a good idea to me."

"Pick me!" Fred jumped.

"Wasabi?"

"Sorry." He held out his hands. "I need to work on my laser plasma. I can't watch your brother right now. But after we're all finished, we can finally work on that gun."

"That's good, but I need someone to watch Hiro now. I can't take him to watch the lecture with me!"

The friends exchanged looks and bit their lips as they glanced at the clock and left the room in a hurry. GoGo looked at Tadashi and pointed to her wristwatch, asking him to hurry as well. Now Tadashi was alone with Hiro and Fred. The latter walked up to Tadashi and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Well, guess it's down to me to watch Hiro." He smiled as he put his hands on his pockets. "Or that weird guy who cleans the hallways."

"Oh, Joe is here?" Tadashi said as he looked to the hallway through the open door.

"Tadashi!" Fred groaned. "I can take care of this young guy. It's going to be fun! And he's going to be ok. It will only last for an hour or so!"

Tadashi sighed and bit his lip. He looked at Hiro and then at Fred. He could feel his body telling him that was a bad idea and he could almost hear his brain yelling at him for being so irresponsible.

"Hiro, I'll have to be gone for a while. You're going to stay with Fred, ok? But the rules still stand!"

"Dashi?" He tilted his head again.

Tadashi put Hiro down and looked at Fred.

"Fred, please... Just once... Try not to..." He couldn't think of a nice way to say the things he was thinking.

"Don't worry, Tadashi. Hiro's going to be just fine. He has his uncle Fred to take care of him!"

"That's what I'm worried about." Tadashi said, just above a whisper. He looked at the door after hearing a knock and saw GoGo pointing to her wristwatch again before leaving once more.

"I have to go now. Don't walk away from Fred, ok?" He said, looking at Hiro's eyes.

"Feddy."

"It's Fred, but we'll get there." The blond boy said as he tapped Hiro's back and laughed. Tadashi turned around after waving goodbye to his brother as he left him with his friend. He jogged toward the room 102, ignoring the millions of voices he heard inside his head warning him that it had been a bad idea.

* * *

"Ok, Hiro, it's you and me now." Fred said as he rubbed his hands. "You're kind of cute, you know that? I always wanted to have a younger brother. You should totally go visit my house so we can play video games! And Tadashi told me you could read, right? I hope you like comic books!"

Hiro was motionless as he looked at Fred and then at the door.

"Dashi?" He said, attempting to leave, but Fred held him back by his hood.

"No, no, no. Tadashi is busy right now, that's why I am taking care of you for the next hour. I know you love your brother and all, but Uncle Fred here can be fun too!" He said, showing Hiro his fist.

"Fist bump. Uncle Feddy."

"You'll get there. No need to rush. It took me seven years to say my first word!"

Even Hiro seemed to comprehend that statement shouldn't be said with such pride like Fred had done. The young boy tilted his head and folded his arms, giving Fred a skeptical look as the older one approached him and put his hand on Hiro's shoulder.

"Dashi." He said, looking down.

"Wow, I wish someone liked me the way you like your brother. Don't worry; he'll be back before you know it. Why do you like Tadashi so much, by the way? I understand he's your brother, but why?" Fred watched as Hiro looked up at him and then down again, without saying a word. "I guess you don't like to talk that much, hum? It's ok. Soon you'll be fourteen again. And Tadashi is an amazing friend, by the way. You're lucky to have him as a brother."

Hiro finally smiled.

"Tadashi told me quite a lot about you. Actually, he talks about you all the time here, did you know it?" It was when Fred's stomach growled. He patted his pocket and felt the few dollars he had. "I seem to be hungry. Do you like Gummy bears?" Hiro's smile, his jumps and happy wails let Fred know that he did. The blond boy walked up to the door and tilted his head, motioning for Hiro to follow him out.

Hiro looked around the room one more time and finally started to walk behind Fred. He was a little scared that Tadashi wasn't there with him, but he soon got distracted when they entered the hallway. Like before, a few students walked around it; there was science and robots all around him. He walked as he spun around several times to be able to look at all the directions. Fred walked a few feet in front of him. He glanced back at the young boy and saw how amazed Hiro was, causing him to giggle.

"Pretty cool, hum? I may not be a student, but I am a major science enthusiastic. Have I told you that? Oh, yeah, I said that when you were fourteen. Hey, that's a weird sentence when we consider that you're five now. I wonder how you'll feel when you are fourteen again. I loved to be fourteen. Hey, we're here! This is the machine where we..."

As Fred stopped in front of the selling machine, he turned around expecting to find Hiro still following him. But he trailed off when he looked from side to side and realized the young boy wasn't anywhere to be found.

"Hiro?" He called as he spun around. The lack of reply let him know he was alone. Fred bit his lip and let out some air. "Yeah, this could be a problem."

* * *

Fred ran toward the room 102 and opened the door. The room was huge; with around two hundred students sitting as they listened to Callaghan, who spoke from the stage ahead. Nobody seemed to notice Fred, as he stood in the doorway and looked from side to side. He spotted Tadashi sitting far away, which made him sigh in relief. He then spotted GoGo, who was sitting on a chair near the door. He gulped and walked toward her, asking sorry as he walked on the aisles in front of the other students.

"Hey, GoGo." He whispered, kneeling down in the aisle.

"Fred?" She whispered back as she squinted her eyes to look at him in the few light inside that room. All the light they had was the spotlight over Callaghan.

"I need your help." He nodded when someone asked him to be quiet, standing up and going back to the door. When he was there, he motioned for GoGo to go with him. She frowned in confusion, but shook her head and stood up from her seat. She dodged the other students' legs and made her best to leave the room without making too much noise. She opened the door and finally left, meeting a worried Fred outside.

"Fred, what are you doing? You can't just go in there and ask me to leave..." She trailed off as realization hit her and she looked from side to side. "Fred, where's Hiro?"

"Well, about that..." He let out a nervous chuckle. "I sort of don't know where he is right now."

"You lost Hiro?!" She yelled, causing all the students to look at her and raise their eyebrows. She forced a laugh and waved at them shyly before grabbing Fred's arm and dragging him to the hallway. She released him and turned to look at his face. "How did you lose Hiro?! He's like a puppy; you can just drag him around! All you had to do was look at him!"

"I thought he was following me, but in the end he wasn't. I just want your help to look for him before Tadashi has the chance to notice it."

"Fred, don't you get it? This place has guns, lasers, knifes, explosions! We can't..." She put her hand on her forehead and rubbed it. "We have to find him. Fast. Lucky you, Callaghan didn't want me to watch the whole thing. I think there won't be a problem if I leave earlier. Now, let's look for him! You go call Wasabi and Honey Lemon to see if they can help while I start looking for him. Where did you see him last?"

"On this very hallway, actually."

"Fine." She sighed. "What are you looking for? Go call them!" GoGo said as she started to run through the hallway. Fred recovered from the shock and nodded, jogging toward the Nerd's lab.

* * *

"Any of you had luck?" Wasabi asked as he joined his friends. They all shook their heads simultaneously, sharing worried looks. After Fred called them, Honey and Wasabi stopped their work and helped him to look around the college and ask some students if they had seen Hiro. Luckily, nobody had found a boy among dangerous stuff or injured; but at the same time nobody had seen Hiro at all.

"It's like he just disappeared out of nowhere!" Honey said, biting her finger in jitters.

"Wait!" Fred said, jumping out of the box he was sitting. "What if he was playing around and accidentally made a formula that made him invisible?"

"Not now, Fred!" His friends said at the same time, causing Fred to hold out his hands and sit down again.

"Are you sure you guys looked everywhere else? I looked in the labs." GoGo asked, folding her arms.

"From the second to the third floor." Wasabi said. "Honey looked on the first one. Fred looked outside. We didn't find him and nobody saw him! Well, we couldn't ask everyone. Some teachers were around and I don't know how they would react if they knew there's an unsupervised five year old boy somewhere around here."

"How long do we have until Tadashi leaves the lecture?" Fred asked, worried.

"Not much time…" Honey Lemon started to say, but she was interrupted by a door opening. When they turned their heads, they all froze when they saw Tadashi entering the hallway and walking toward them.

"Uh oh..." Wasabi said under his breath.

Tadashi walked slowly, rubbing his eyes with his hand as he stretched his muscles. The few extra hours he had to stay awake the night before because of Hiro had really got the best of him. Staying in a dark room in a comfortable chair didn't make it any easier for him to keep his eyes open. He finally got close to his friends and yawned.

"Hey, guys." He said as he looked around. It took him a moment, but he finally frowned and took a deep breath, afraid of the answer he was going to get for the question he was about to ask. "Hum, where's Hiro?"

"_That _is... An excellent question." Fred said, rubbing his hands.

"Where is he?" Tadashi asked, this time sounding angrier.

Before anyone could say anything else, they heard a loud happy wail coming from the end of the corridor that sounded very familiar. All they did was look at each other before they all started running toward the sound.

* * *

"What do you mean you lost Hiro?" Tadashi asked as they ran, looking into every open room they found.

"I thought he was following me!" Fred said.

"Damn it! There are no rooms left! We've looked everywhere and we don't know where that wail came from!" Tadashi said, slamming his back against a wall. "That's it! Aunt Cass is going to kill me!"

"We're going to find him, Tadashi. As far as we know, nobody found him hurt or anything. And more, sooner or later that boy will look for you." Honey said, smiling. "He's crazy for you."

Tadashi lifted his head in a second as he looked to the end of the hallway in the direction of his own lab. The door was closed, which meant they hadn't looked in there when they were running around. "You're right. He is crazy for me. And he would go to where he'd think he could find me!" He said as he bolt upright. "Did anyone look in my lab?"

"Hum, no... The door was closed..." GoGo said as she mentally slapped herself for not looking in there when Fred called her. She knew they should avoid entering in closed rooms because that usually meant something serious or chemical was going on in it, but if Tadashi was with her on the lecture, there couldn't be anything going on in his lab. She should know better.

Tadashi didn't waste any more time and ran to his lab, slamming the door open. He stood still in the doorway, staring blankly ahead as he tilted his head. His friends followed him, but stopped walking when they noticed his friend's reaction.

"Tadashi? What's wrong?" Wasabi asked.

"You... You all need to see this."

* * *

Tadashi slowly entered the room; his friends followed him inside as none of them could believe what they were seeing. In front of their eyes, on the corner of the room, a big white robot was holding Hiro in his arms, pressing the baby against his body. The baby slept peacefully; holding that same piece was playing with that morning like it was a stuffed animal. The robot's body was red, meaning that he was using his heater to keep the baby warm.

They did nothing but stare at the scene for a few seconds, until Tadashi spoke up.

"Baymax." He said, sighing in relief. Baymax finally took his eyes off the infant to look at Tadashi when he heard his name. The older brother approached the robot and looked at Hiro. He didn't seem to be injured or even scared. In fact, he seemed to be smiling as he slept. One of his hands held the piece and the other one clutched the robot's body.

"Tadashi." Baymax replied. It was enough to make Hiro wail and blink his eyes open, rubbing his face. The first thing he saw was the robot's head, and that made him smile. He then looked aside and noticed his brother standing there. He smiled as he dropped the piece and reached out, still sleepy.

"Dashi." He called after a yawn.

Tadashi sighed once again and carefully took the baby off the robot's arms, looking at him as he passed his hand through Hiro's hair. "Are you ok?"

Hiro nodded as Baymax started to speak. "The baby is in excellent health. However, his body temperature was a little low. That could make his immune system weaker and cause him to develop some kind of disease. I recommend the use of a jacket in cold days like today."

"Fluffy robot." Hiro giggled.

Tadashi looked to his brother and smiled, hugging him tighter. He was ok. Not to mention warm and comfy.

"Wait. What happened, Hiro?" He said as he put Hiro on the ground and knelt down to look at him in the eye. "How did you find Baymax? And how did you activate him?"

Hiro rubbed his hands together and looked down; like he always did when he had to speak.

"It's ok, buddy. Just tell me what happened."

Hiro took a long breath and approached Tadashi, still looking down. Their faces were inches apart.

"I wanted to find you. Dashi." He whispered. "I wan... I didn... I..."

"It's ok, Hiro. It's alright. Just tell me. No pressure."

Hiro blinked his big brown eyes and lifted his head to look at Tadashi's face. "I wan-wanted to find you. I... I came ba-back to here. Fo-Found that nice p-p-piece. I hurt m-my toe when t-that piece fell. Fluffy robot. He's warm." He said, pointing at Baymax behind him. In shame for stuttering so much, he looked down again. Tadashi pulled Hiro into a hug before standing up again with the boy in his arms.

"See? I knew you could do it! There's room for improvement, but I'm not giving up on you."

Hiro looked into his brother's eyes and smiled before wrapping his arms around Tadashi's neck.

"Dashi."

Tadashi's friends went 'aw' with that scene. Tadashi tapped Hiro's back before putting his brother on the floor again. He walked up to the highest shelf and found the gun. He grabbed it and gave it to Wasabi.

"I suppose we can work on it now?"

"Sure. Just let me go to our lab and turn off my plasma before someone walks into it."

"Let's go. We're going to solve this!" GoGo said as she pumped her forearm.

"Hum, can you guys go first and take Hiro with you? I want to see if Baymax is working properly. But please, don't lose him this time."

"We won't." Honey Lemon chuckled as she took Hiro's hand. "Let's go, Hiro."

"Dashi?"

"I'll catch up. Don't worry."

Hiro gave a shy smile as he followed Tadashi's friends outside. Tadashi closed the door and walked up to Baymax.

"Hey, Baymax?"

"Yes, Tadashi?"

"You scanned Hiro, didn't you?"

"I am programed to assess everyone's healthcare needs."

Tadashi sighed.

"Is he alright?"

"As I said, the baby is in excellent health. However, his neurotransmitter levels indicated he was very nervous and anxious when he was asked to speak, which is unusual for five year olds."

Tadashi nodded.

"Any advice for me there?"

"I would recommend giving the baby more opportunities to speak and never correcting his mistakes abruptly or forcing him to speak if he doesn't want to. Also, wearing a jacket in cold days like today would be a good idea."

After sighing, Tadashi smiled and gave a soft nod.

"Thank you, Baymax. Well, I'm satisfied with my care."

* * *

**A cookie to anyone who can identify a "The fresh prince of Bel-Air" reference in this chapter!**

**Yes, I'm aware Hiro has been acting like he was a 1-3 year old instead of 5. I did that on purpose. However, I've been thinking and I agree he had been acting _too _childish so far. I apologize for that. I'll try to balance this from now on. And of course Baymax had to be here somehow! I love that robot.**

**I hope you enjoyed this! Let me know what you think.**


	4. Those words

**I can't really promise daily updates; I'll be busy with school when this holiday is over and also I have some other fics I need to update. But since I had some free time and I really wanted to write this chapter, I decided to work on it today.**

**By the way, Hiro is just too adorable.**

* * *

It was around 8:00pm when Tadashi and his friends left the college after what had been an exhaustive day. Not only because a big part of it was spent with them running around the building looking for Hiro; but also because that gun had given them a hard time. Nothing about it was easy or simple to understand; and if Tadashi was worried about bringing Hiro back to normal before, his nerves surely weren't any better now.

Wasabi had to give them all a ride as they had to stay over time to work on the gun and lost the bus they were supposed to catch. Tadashi sat on the front seat with Hiro softly sleeping into his lap.

"Aw, he's so cute when he's sleeping. If I hadn't spent my afternoon running around looking for him in a college full of lasers and dangerous chemistry, I would say he looks like the most peaceful thing that has ever been on Earth." Honey Lemon said from the back seat.

"Yeah." Tadashi let out a soft chuckle. "Watching over him and trying to keep him away from anything dangerous while I tried to help you guys with the gun wasn't exactly easy either." He then looked down at Hiro in his lap, who let out a relieved sigh as he rubbed his head against Tadashi's chest in his sleep. "But it's worth it." The older one said as he tightened the hug he was giving Hiro.

Wasabi raised an eyebrow and smiled. "You're enjoying it, aren't you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're enjoying having Hiro as a five year old."

"Well..." Tadashi looked down at Hiro again and softly ruffled his hair. "I guess I am. I mean, despite the times I nearly had a heart attack because he went missing, the hours he kept me awake last night and the constant fear of having Aunt Cass killing me if she finds out about it, this has been kind of... Nice."

Everyone in the car giggled as they nodded and sighed.

"Well, after a day like today I'm just glad tomorrow is Saturday and I get to sleep until noon. Then my mother will kick me out of bed, I'll complain about it and go sleep on the couch. The good life." GoGo said as she stretched and closed her eyes, relaxing her body onto her seat.

"Same." Tadashi uttered as he sighed. "This boy here is giving me a hard time. Did you know he speaks when he's sleeping? I kept waking up because I thought there was something wrong with him during the night. I can't wait to take a hot shower and lay down."

After the red light in front of them turned green, Wasabi stepped on the accelerator and turned the corner, parking in front of the café. Tadashi poked Hiro to wake him up from his nap and the boy yawned, blinking his eyes open. The older opened the door of the car and motioned for Hiro get out. After a short stretch, Hiro rubbed his eyes and jumped outside. Tadashi did the same, but before he could close the door he turned around and looked at his friends.

"Guys, I know tomorrow is Saturday and you all want to sleep and rest, but I was thinking... If you don't mind or if you don't have any plans... Maybe we could meet in the afternoon and..."

The friends inside the car exchanged looks and smiled. "Don't worry, Tadashi. We can meet tomorrow to keep working on that gun. All I ask for is a few extra hours of sleep. Deal?" GoGo said.

Tadashi sighed in relief and nodded. "Deal. I need some sleep too. Thank you, guys. I honestly don't know what I would do without your help."

They all gave Tadashi a comforting nod as the Hamada closed the door and watched Wasabi driving away. He looked down when he felt something on his hand and saw that Hiro was asking to be held.

"Let's enter the house first, ok?" Tadashi giggled as he took Hiro by the hand and walked up to the café's entrance, sticking his hand down his pocket to look for the key. After a few seconds he found it and pulled it out, but it took him a few tries to finally hit the key hole and unlock the door. Hiro noticed it and tilted his head.

"Dashi tired?"

"A little." Tadashi said as he opened the door and entered the café, still holding Hiro's hand in his. He didn't let his brother go until he was sure he had locked the door and Hiro was indeed by his side. He already knew that boy could be slippery. He finally released the younger's hand, and the first thing Hiro did was chase the cat that welcomed them by the door, grabbing him.

"Hairy baby!" He said happily as he rubbed his head in the cat's fur.

Tadashi sat down on a chair after turning on the lights and sighed. He needed to sleep, but there were a few things he needed to do before going to bed. He rubbed his eyes and looked to his brother, and the tender figure of the small boy holding the cat made him smile.

He stood up and walked to Hiro, tapping his brother's back.

"Come here, we have to feed Mochi before we go to bed."

"Mochi?" Hiro said, tilting his head in confusion. Then he turned his head to look at the cat's face and smiled. "Oh, Mochi. Kitty. Hairy baby."

Tadashi motioned for Hiro to follow him as they went upstairs to the kitchen. Tadashi opened a closet and pulled out a bag of cat's food as Hiro took Mochi to the corner of the room; where there were two bowls on the ground, and carefully put the cat on the floor.

The older one smiled as he approached and filled one of the bowls. Hiro caressed Mochi as the cat started to eat, giggling. "Fluffy kitty, hun-hung..." Tadashi noticed Hiro looked down, disappointed at himself, and caressed Hiro's hair.

"It's ok. Try again, buddy."

Hiro looked up at Tadashi; his big brown eyes sparkled in fear and expectation. He took a deep breath as he held Tadashi's hand. "Mochi is hun-hungry." He gulped and smiled when he realized he had nailed it.

"See?" Tadashi said as he knelt down and pulled Hiro in a hug before looking at him in the eye. "You can do it if you try. And it's ok if you don't do it in your first try. Remember that piece you played with today? It was supposed to be part of Baymax, but it didn't work. I didn't give up, and now Baymax is ready. 84th is the charm, you know." He chuckled as he took Hiro in his arms and stood up.

"Baymax? Oh, fluffy robot. You built him, Dashi?"

"I did."

"Hum. When I grow up, I want to build robots just like you!"

Tadashi looked at his smiling brother and smiled too. He remembered what had happened a few days before; they had gone to jail because Hiro was bot-fighting again. His smile slowly faded when he remembered what teen Hiro used to do. Deep inside, it hurt to think that innocent boy he was holding was going to do something illegal as soon as he grew up again, and Tadashi couldn't do anything to stop him.

"Dashi?" Hiro tilted his head.

"Hum?" Tadashi said as he snapped back to reality. "Oh. Don't worry Hiro. I'm sure that if you work hard enough, you'll build amazing robots one day."

"Really?"

"Really." Tadashi said and bit his lip before sighing. "Hiro, can you promise me something?"

"Sure, Dashi."

"When you grow up, promise me you won't get into trouble. Promise me you'll be a good boy and you'll never do anything that could hurt you. You'll use that big brain of yours to do good things in life. Ok?"

Hiro smiled and gave a satisfied nod before wrapping his arms around Tadashi's neck. "Anything for Dashi." The older one sighed as he went upstairs toward their room, wishing he could believe that promise, even if he knew Hiro was going to forget or ignore that promise as soon as they brought him back to normal.

* * *

"Ok, Hiro. We both need to take a shower and go to bed soon after, ok? Tadashi is tired and tomorrow we have some more work to do."

"Still working on the purple gun?"

Tadashi tilted his head. Not once he had mentioned what he had been working on that day; yet Hiro seemed to know it. Sure, he was in the same room as Tadashi and his friends, but he was playing on a distant corner, keeping a safe distance from the working area. Aunt Cass was right, Hiro was smarter than he seemed to be and took notice of what happened around him.

"Yes. That purple gun. It's giving me a lot of trouble. But let's not talk about it right now, ok? We need to take a shower and go to bed. Are you hungry or anything?"

Hiro shook his head. "Uncle Feddy gave me Gummy bears."

"Of course he did." Tadashi rolled his eyes. "I know you like candies and all, but you need some real food too. Tomorrow I'm making you a real breakfast, ok?"

"Fine!" Hiro said slightly annoyed as he sat down on his bed and folded his arms. He watched as Tadashi giggled and nodded before turning around. His older brother started to push the chair until it was in front of their closet. He climbed and stood on it, opening the highest closet. "What is Dashi doing?"

"Well, if you're going to take a shower you'll need some clothes. The ones you're wearing must be dirty by now." He said as he shuffled through the closet. Hiro tugged on his shirt and looked at it, shrugging and looking back to Tadashi. "I hope Aunt Cass didn't... Aha!"

The older Hamada jumped out of the chair with a box in his hands. Hiro tilted his head when Tadashi put that box on the floor and opened it, revealing some old clothes.

"What's this?"

"Those were your clothes when you were five."

Hiro raised an eyebrow. "But I am f-five, Dashi."

_So he doesn't know it_, Tadashi thought.

"I'll explain later. Let's see... Ok. Here. They're a little dusty, but it's ok for the night. Now... Do you want me to help you take a shower?"

Hiro raised his eyebrow. "No... I can do it m-myself."

"Are you sure?"

The young boy nodded. Tadashi let out a sigh, but knelt down and grabbed Hiro's hands.

"Ok, but there are rules: don't lock the door. Actually, don't even close it. I promise I won't enter if you don't ask me to, ok? But I want to be able to hear you. Call me if anything happens. Literally, anything. Be careful. Don't try to reach anything that's higher than you, get it? If you slip, call me. If anything happens, call me. Get it?"

Hiro nodded before grabbing the clothes Tadashi was holding and going to the bathroom. For the older Hamada, it was hard to understand that his brother could do anything by himself when Hiro asked to be held all the time and acted like a two year old. But at the same time, Hiro was smarter than he seemed. He sighed and grabbed the box when he finally heard the sound of running water.

Tadashi opened the box once more and took a shirt and trousers for Hiro to wear the next day. He ran downstairs - nearly tripping over Mochi - and adjusted the washing machine as fast as he could. He didn't want to stay away from Hiro for much longer. Once he was sure the clothes were being washed, he ran upstairs again.

"Is everything alright?" He asked, approaching the door of the bathroom.

"Yes." Hiro said from inside.

"Are you sure?"

"Aham."

"Ok, then. Call me if anything happens."

Tadashi walked up to his bed and sat down on it, taking a deep breath. He needed to sleep and relax. His mind went back to that afternoon, when he and his friends were working on the gun. He didn't understand half of it, and was he scared that they wouldn't make it in time. What if they didn't get to fix it?

"Dashi?"

Tadashi's head shot up and he looked to his brother. Hiro stood near the blind that separated his part of the room from Tadashi's; already wearing his pajamas and holding that stuffed robot. He had a confused expression on his face.

"Are you worried?" He asked, without stuttering at all.

"No, just tired." Tadashi lied as he stood up. "Do you want me to tuck you in?"

"Can you read me a bedt-t-time story?"

Tadashi tilted his head as memories went through his mind. Reading bedtime stories was something he used to do quite a lot when Hiro was around nine or ten years old. After he grew up, he stopped asking for it. Actually, after Hiro grew up he stopped doing a lot of things he used to do when he was younger, and Tadashi never realized that he missed some of them. Tadashi blinked and looked down at his baby brother, taking him to his bed.

"Sure." He said as Hiro climbed up to his bed and lay down. "What do you want me to read?"

The younger one pointed at a pile of books that were in a shelf. Tadashi recognized them as being the books his mother used to read him when he was around Hiro's age. Well, little Hiro. "Whichever you choose is fine." Hiro said as he put his head on his pillow.

Tadashi reached out and picked a random one. His eyes widened when he read the title. "No family. Hum, I used to love this one. Is it ok for you?"

Hiro nodded as Tadashi sat down on the chair and opened the book in his lap. His voice made Hiro relax as he paid attention to his brother's words.

* * *

"And he waved goodbye, finally feeling what it was like to have a family again." Tadashi read the last line, closing the book. "The end."

Hiro smiled as his eyelids grew heavy. He yawned as Tadashi stood up and tucked him in, making sure Hiro was comfortable. He didn't notice Hiro seemed to be thoughtful.

"Hey, Dashi?"

"Yes, Hiro?" He asked as he pulled Hiro's blanket up.

"Is our family incomplete because we don't have a mommy and a daddy?"

Tadashi's smile faded as he slowly turned his head to look into his brother's eyes. He could see Hiro was fighting to keep them open, and they seemed to be a little teary too, but somewhere along his sleepy expression, Tadashi could see sadness.

"No. A family is never incomplete. It can be small or different, like our family is, but it's not incomplete. Wherever there is love, there is a family. You, Aunt Cass and I are very happy together, aren't we?"

Hiro looked at his stuffed robot and seemed to hesitate before nodding. Tadashi smiled and gave Hiro a kiss in the forehead, which Hiro gladly accepted. Tadashi couldn't remember the last time he had given Hiro a kiss that wasn't wiped away in the next second.

"You should get some sleep now."

"Ok." He muttered as he yawned. "I will. Night, Dashi."

"Night, Hiro."

Tadashi turned off the lights and kept looking at Hiro until the little boy had closed his eyes and seemed to be asleep. He sighed and finally went to the bathroom, taking a quick hot shower before going to bed himself. He was so tired that he fell asleep the moment his head touched his pillow.

* * *

"Dashi?"

Tadashi fluttered his eyes, not being able to fully open them because of his tiredness. He felt a small hand on his arm, followed by a tug in his sleeve and a soft wail. "Dashi?"

He finally opened his eyes, rubbing them. He saw a pair of big brown eyes staring at him in fear. He thought they seemed to be teary, but the darkness didn't allow him to confirm it. Tadashi glanced at the clock: 3:17am. After sighing, he finally sat up and looked down at his brother.

"What's wrong, Hiro?" He asked, still half-asleep.

"Can I s-s-sleep with you?"

Tadashi blinked in confusion. When Hiro was younger - for the first time - it was rather unusual for him to ask to sleep with Tadashi. He only did it when something was wrong, like when he was about to throw up or got hurt. The sudden concern was enough to make Tadashi fully wake up.

"What's wrong? Are you sick?"

Hiro shook his head. Tadashi turned on the lamp on his night stand and looked down at his brother. His eyes widened when he saw that not only Hiro's eyes were indeed teary, but his hands were shaking and he was sweating a lot. He got out of bed and knelt down by Hiro's side.

"Oh, my God, Hiro; what happened? Are you feeling bad?" Tadashi asked as he placed his hand on Hiro's forehead, but he pulled it back when Hiro jerked away.

"No. It's just..."

He never finished that sentence. Tadashi held his hands out, unsure of what to do.

"What happened?"

Hiro lifted his head. Tadashi gasped when he saw tears going down Hiro's face.

"Night... Night... Night..."

Somehow, Tadashi knew that he was trailing off because Hiro was nervous, not because that word was hard to pronounce.

"Do you mean nightmare?"

Hiro nodded as Tadashi sighed. He was relieved that it wasn't some disease or something painful, but he was still worried. What kind of horrible nightmare would make Hiro get like that? He stood up and grabbed his brother softly, sitting down on the corner of his bed with Hiro in his lap.

"It's alright, buddy. Nightmares aren't real."

In the blink of an eye, Hiro wrapped his arms around Tadashi's waist, trying to get as close as he possibly could to his brother. He rubbed his head against Tadashi's chest, and finally started to cry and sob.

The older one was confused and froze in place for a moment before sighing and wrapping his arms around Hiro's tiny body as he started to softly rock their bodies in a comforting motion. Hiro heard Tadashi's heartbeat; the sound practically hypnotized the little boy as tears kept going down his face. Hiro seemed to be so nervous that he could barely breathe; letting too much air in and not enough air out.

"It's ok, Hiro. I'm here, it was just a nightmare."

Tadashi started to caress Hiro's hair to calm him down. He made his best to remember a song his mother would sing him when he got scared, but failed to remember the lyrics. So he just started to 'hum' it as he moved their bodies back and forth.

After what felt like forever, Hiro calmed down. He started to breathe normally again and the tears didn't stop, but now there weren't that many going down his face. Tadashi reached over to clean his brother's face, but when he did it Hiro held his hand and pressed it against his little face. He sighed and released his brother's hand after a while, moving to lean his head in the crook of Tadashi's neck, refusing to let go.

After another twenty minutes of just hugging, Tadashi finally felt Hiro's arms sliding away from his neck. Hiro folded his arms and looked down, ashamed. He knew Tadashi was tired and wanted to sleep.

"Sorry, T... T... Dashi."

"Hiro, you don't need to be sorry for having a nightmare. It wasn't your fault. It's alright." He said as he rubbed Hiro's back to comfort him. Tadashi was about to think about something else to say, but Hiro was faster.

"Dashi... Can you promise me something?"

"Anything."

"Please... Never go into a... Please... Don't leave me alone."

Tadashi tried to connect those sentences, failing to understand what his brother meant, except for the last one.

"I'm never leaving you alone, Hiro. Ever."

"So you p-promise me you'll never ever go int-t-to a b-burning building?"

Tadashi blinked in response and tilted his head, but opened his mouth in surprise when realization hit him.

"Did you dream I ran into a burning building?"

Hiro sniffed before nodding.

"That building where we saw the fluffy robot. It was on fire. You ran. And it exploded. And you were inside. And you never came back. And you died..."

Tadashi noticed Hiro was getting more and more apprehensive with each sentence he said, so he interrupted his little brother by quickly pulling him into a soft hug.

"Hiro, I'm here. Dashi's here. I am never leaving you alone and I'm never running into burning buildings. Unless you're inside one, ok? Because I'll be there to save you. I'm not gone. I'm here. Your big brother's here."

Hiro blinked and looked down, sighing. He rubbed his face against Tadashi's chest again, feeling his brother's soft heartbeat. "I love you, Dashi."

Tadashi's eyes shot open when he heard those words. He gulped and felt his heart beating faster. It had been years since Hiro had said he loved Tadashi. He couldn't help but let out a tear or two. He wiped them away and looked down at Hiro, who softly broke the hug to look up at his brother.

"I love you too, Hiro. And that's why I'm never entering any burning building. I promise I won't leave you alone."

"'K, Dashi." He said, giving a shy smile. He looked down and rubbed his hands before looking up again. "Can I still sleep with you?"

"Of course." Tadashi giggled. He put Hiro on the floor and lied down again, raising the blanket up a bit and patting the mattress. Hiro approached and his older brother helped him to climb up on the bed.

Hiro was lying by Tadashi's side, his face a few inches away from his brother's. Tadashi could feel Hiro's breath on his face, and it made him happy. He pulled up the blanket, draping it over him and his brother, making sure Hiro was warm enough.

Tadashi was ready to go back to sleep and closed his eyes, but then he felt something that made him open them again. He gazed down and saw Hiro's arm draped over his waist lazily, his little face was now resting on the crank of Tadashi's shoulder. His warm breath hit Tadashi's neck.

The older one couldn't help but smile at his brother. Since Hiro was around eleven, he stopped hugging Tadashi. Actually, he had started to despise every single kind of human touch or emotions. Before that night, Tadashi never really thought about it, but he missed Hiro. He missed hugging him, kissing him, talking to him. He missed hearing his brother saying he loved him; and he missed telling him he loved Hiro.

Tadashi gently moved to his side, not wanting to wake Hiro up. He let the small boy snuggle into his chest and then he put his arm underneath Hiro's head, his forearm serving as a pillow for his younger brother. He softly wrapped his other arm around Hiro's shoulder, pushing him even closer. The younger one stirred and yawned in his sleep before nuzzling against Tadashi's chest again.

Tadashi breathed in, smelling Hiro's hair before closing his eyes for the second - and last - time that night.

* * *

**Yes, Hiro did say "I love you".**

**I am a sucker for movies about siblings or friendship rather than about romance. So I was really disappointed when Tadashi was killed like twenty minutes into the movie. He barely had time to say "Hi". And we barely had time to see his relation with Hiro. That's one of the reasons I decided to write/read Big Hero 6 fanfiction.**

**Thanks again to everyone who's reviewed, followed and favorited this. I may not reply everyone, but know that I always read all the reviews and I'm always open to some criticism. I love to know what people think about my fics - be it good or bad - because it inspires me to write more and helps me to improve. So I just really wanted to thank you all for the support!**

**Also, yes, I wanted to have Tadashi running into the building here; but of course as a dream. And the book "No family" is a book my mother used to read me when I was a kid. I'm not sure how it's called in other countries, but it was about an orphan boy who asks a man if a family without parents in an incomplete one. I just thought it would fit.**

**See yah next chapter!**


	5. Afternoon, Dashi

**I wasn't quite sure of how to start this chapter; I had a few ideas in mind. I just hope I did the right choice.**

* * *

The first thing Tadashi saw when he opened his eyes was an empty place by his side on the mattress, alongside an empty pillow and if he lifted his head an inch more he would have seen a blanket on the floor. He glanced at the watch on his night stand: 8:37am. He groaned in annoyance before burying his face down in his pillow; for he was so used to waking up early that he did it even when it was Saturday and he could get some extra rest.

He was about to close his eyes again and go back to sleep when realization hit him. His eyes shot open and he gasped awake as he bolt upright in bed. His first instinct was to look for Hiro, but then he remembered the spot by his side was empty, meaning that his brother had already left the bed. He looked around his part of the room, squinting and rubbing his eyes in a tentative to adjust his blurry vision; but he had already noticed his brother wasn't there.

"Hiro?" Tadashi called, still half asleep. For a second, he wondered if it all had been a dream, but he came back to reality when a children's voice answered from outside the separation blind.

"Here, Dashi."

Tadashi sighed and shook his head, rubbing his eyes again. He stood up and coughed, stretching before finally going through the blind and entering Hiro's part of the room. He stood still when he saw Hiro sitting by the desk, and he seemed to be focused while writing something. "Hiro?" Tadashi called again as he started to walk toward his brother. Tadashi noticed Hiro's color pencil box on the corner of the desk and smiled.

"Hey, buddy. What are you doing there? Drawing?"

Starring straight at the piece of paper in front of him, Hiro sharply nodded. He seemed extremely focused, and his scribbling sounded fast and harsh. Tadashi leaned to look over his brother's shoulder, and his smile slowly became a frown when he looked down at Hiro's drawing. His younger brother was drawing a mess of red and yellow, angrily passing the red pencil by the sheet. In the blink of an eye, Hiro dropped the red and grabbed the yellow, coloring a few spots before grabbing the black. He didn't seem to be drawing anything specific; he just colored the white sheet with lines, stains and scribbles; always in red and yellow, with small black spots on the corner of the sheet.

Tadashi did nothing but look over his brother's shoulder as Hiro kept on drawing. The older one failed to comprehend what was going on through his brother's mind, but Hiro didn't seem to care for Tadashi standing there. He just continued to draw like he was doing before his brother woke up. He held the pencil with such strength that his knuckles were red.

"Hiro." Tadashi asked at last, frowning. "What is that?"

The young boy finally stopped his unceasing scratching. His arms fell on the table, he dropped the pencil and his knuckles slowly returned to their normal color. He shook his head and sighed; it was like he had been in some kind of trance when he was drawing. He looked up at Tadashi before grabbing the sheet and giving it to his older brother.

"My dream. It's fire. A burning building." Hiro sniffed. "The fire that killed Dashi."

* * *

Hiro was on the living room, sitting down on the floor in front of the TV as he watched the morning cartoons and smiled. Mochi was sleeping by his side, and Hiro eventually reached out to poke the cat or stroke his soft fur. During commercial breaks, he would lie down on the floor and put the cat on his chest, giving him a soft hug and calling him "Hairy baby".

Tadashi watched Hiro from the kitchen. The older one had calmed down about leaving his younger brother alone. Two days before, Tadashi would be by Hiro's side as he watched TV, believing that something bad would happen if Hiro didn't have company all the time. Tadashi was finally starting to understand that not only his brother wasn't a baby, but he was also a very smart five years old boy.

The older Hamada walked from side to side as he prepared breakfast for him and his brother, always looking through the door every five minutes to make sure Hiro was alright. He giggled and took a picture with his phone when he saw Hiro sitting with his back against the couch and Mochi in his lap. When Tadashi saw him smiling and laughing like that, he couldn't believe that half an hour before Hiro was on the desk of their room, as concentrated as a human being can be as he worked on his drawing.

Tadashi gulped and bit his lip. He put the dishes he was carrying in the sink and sat down on the table of the kitchen, where there was a folded sheet. He sighed before grabbing it, and it took him a few seconds of staring to get courage enough to unfold it and finally look at Hiro's drawing. If he didn't know what those scribbles were supposed to mean, he wouldn't mind them. But he could never forget the look Hiro had on his face when he told Tadashi he was drawing the fire that had killed him in his dream. He felt like he should talk with Hiro about that, but when he thought about how scared his little brother had been the night before when he told Tadashi about his dream, he wondered if it was a good idea.

He folded the sheet again and stood up, tossing it on the table. Tadashi tried to concentrate on the pancakes he was making and made his best to forget about the drawing as he finished the breakfast. He gave Hiro a last glance before setting the table, being careful not to place anything over the sheet. He yanked the blinds up, throwing the sun into the kitchen before he went to the living room to call Hiro.

"Hiro." He called from the doorway. The young boy turned his head and looked at his brother. He smiled and put Mochi on the floor, reaching out. Tadashi hadn't hugged or held him in the entire morning, and by young Hiro's standards that was way too long. Tadashi rolled his eyes and smirked, approaching and turning off the TV before grabbing Hiro. The young boy smiled and put his hands on Tadashi's shoulders.

"Hun-gy!" Hiro said as he swung his legs back and forth in Tadashi's lap.

"Do you mean you're hungry? Well, good timing. The pancakes are ready. I know they won't be as good as Aunt Cass's ones, but I hope you like them regardless." Tadashi smiled as he took Hiro to the kitchen. "You know what, Hiro? This reminds me of when mother was pregnant with you and I helped dad to make her breakfast. Good times."

"Mom and dad?" Hiro asked, not in a sad tone. The older one didn't quite get what the younger meant with that question.

Tadashi remembered Hiro's question the previous night about a family being incomplete and shook his head, putting Hiro on one of the chairs. "Are you ready to eat?" He said, trying to change the subject. Hiro's response was a satisfied nod as he clapped, watching Tadashi walk over to the balcony and bring pancakes and a jar of orange juice.

"How are you, Hiro? Feeling ok?"

Hiro nodded again as he filled his mouth with the food Tadashi put on his plate. The older one had to hold Hiro back to keep him from eating the pancakes before the older one could cut it in small pieces. He giggled at his brother's animation and watched as he ate satisfactorily before sitting down to eat too. After a few minutes in which all the could be heard was the sound of cutlery and chewing, Tadashi looked at the sheet and cleaned his throat.

"So, Hiro..." He looked up as he tried to think of a good way to get in the subject. "You had a nightmare last night, right?"

Hiro stopped eating and looked at Tadashi, gulping the food he had in his mouth before nodding. He looked aside and recognized the sheet in which he had drawn the fire, pointing at it. "F-F-Fire. I t-told you."

The older one sighed. "Wanna talk about it?"

Hiro blinked and shrugged. He grabbed his fork and looked at his food as he started to speak. "You t-t-took me to visit fluffy robot. Uncle Feddy and Wasab-bi were p-playing and t-they t-took me outside t-to play with you too. The f-fire started. You said you n-needed to save people. Then you ran. And it exp-ploded. I wanted to save you. But... The fire had already... You had already..."

Hiro stopped talking and released his fork. He had been holding it all the time while talking, but not once he had used it to take food into his mouth. He took a deep breath and finally stopped staring at his food to look at Tadashi. His older brother's eyes were sparkling with curiosity and surprise as Hiro shrugged again before finishing his sentence.

"You were gone. Forever."

They looked into each other's eyes for what felt like forever until Tadashi looked to the floor for a few seconds before looking back at Hiro, who was staring at his food again. "You were scared, weren't you?"

Hiro frowned as he straightened up on his chair, like if he couldn't understand what his brother meant by that. "Of course I was, Dashi. I don't wanna lose you. You are, like... The most imp-portant thing ever for me. I'm sc-cared someday I'll be alone. D-Do you promise me you'll n-never enter a burn... A burn... A burning b... You'll never enter a f-fire?"

Tadashi blinked, appalled. That feeling all too familiar. Every time teen Hiro left the house in the middle of the night, Tadashi was afraid he wouldn't come back. Every time Tadashi's phone rang, he was afraid it would be the hospital telling him Hiro was dying. Sometimes, Tadashi dreamed of Hiro's funeral and he woke up in the middle of the night; only to find out Hiro's bed empty because his brother had gone bot-fighting. Not few were the times Tadashi had to rescue Hiro. If Tadashi wasn't there to save his brother... He didn't even dare to imagine what could have happened. And now Hiro was telling him he felt the same.

"Dashi?"

Tadashi snapped back to reality and looked at his brother.

"Hiro... How often do you dream that bad things are happening to me?"

"I... I dunno." He said in his tiny voice. "More t-times than I'd like to."

Tadashi reached out and took Hiro from his chair, accommodating the infant in his lap as he wrapped one arm around him and used the other to stroke Hiro's hair. Hiro relaxed into Tadashi and put his head on his brother's shoulder.

"I promise I'll never go near any sort of flame. I'm not leaving you alone, ok? You don't need to be afraid."

Hiro nodded into Tadashi's shoulder. "Thank you, Dashi."

"It's ok. You mean a whole lot to me too. I hope you know it."

Hiro smiled. "I do. I love you."

Tadashi blinked as he let out some air.

"I love you too, Hiro."

* * *

Tadashi heard a muffled sound. He frowned in confusion, but the sound was slowly getting louder and more audible by the second. After lazily moving his head to the opposite side, he finally opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the kitchen ceiling. That got him confused for a while, until he fully woke up and remembered he had fallen asleep on the chair with Hiro in his lap. Speaking of which, the boy still slept peacefully despite the noise that Tadashi found out to be his phone ringing.

Being careful not to wake Hiro up, Tadashi moved his hand over to his pocket and grabbed his phone. He tried to read the name on the screen, but his vision was still too blurry to do so. Nevertheless, he hit the answer button - better saying, the green smudge he saw on the screen - to answer the call and moved his phone to his ear.

"Hello. Tadashi Hamada here." He said, almost whispering.

"Tadashi? Ok, this is GoGo. I went to the college earlier today because my mother wouldn't shut up and I thought I could sleep on a chair there. Anyway, when I went to my locket to get my laptop I saw the gun and decided to go ask Callaghan if he knew anything about that Andy. I thought that if we find how he built the gun, it will be easier to fix it and bring Hiro back to normal."

She stopped talking and waited for an answer, but Tadashi was still half asleep. He rubbed his eyes with his fist and yawned before putting the phone back to his ear.

"Tadashi?"

"I'm listening. What happened next?"

"Ok, you won't believe it: Callaghan said Andy is in jail."

That was enough to make Tadashi wake up a little more.

"Jail?"

"Yes, because..." GoGo put one hand in the end of her phone as she looked around to make sure nobody was around her. "It looks like he was doing illegal things in the name of the college. He was stealing material and building things that, according to the law, how can I put it? Shouldn't be built."

Tadashi blinked. "What are you trying to tell me?"

"I'm trying to say that the chemistry he used to build that gun may be illegal. We can't be sure because Honey Lemon hasn't figured out all of its components yet. And by the rate things are going, she may take a while to do so. But just think about it: he turned Hiro into a kid! Before all this, I would never say something like that was even possible." GoGo stopped as she popped a gun and sighed. "I think someone should go to the jail and talk to this Andy. Ask him what he did. Maybe tell him what happened to Hiro."

"And what makes you think he'll help us? If it really is illegal like you're saying, he'll most likely want keep it a secret."

"Don't you think it's worth a try?"

Tadashi looked down at the sleeping Hiro in his lap. A small irrational part of him didn't want to turn Hiro back to normal. It felt great that Hiro was too small and innocent to even know what bot-fighting was. He loved the fact that Hiro idolized Tadashi with all of his will. He loved that Hiro told him about his feelings and allowed him to hug and kiss him. It felt great when Hiro said 'I love you'.

But a big rational part knew he had to.

"I guess so. But I don't know how I would..."

"Don't worry." She interrupted. "I know you have to take care of Hiro. I'm willing to go by myself. I have my bike, I can do it quickly."

"By yourself? Are you sure?"

"Yes!" She shouted, and then cleaned her throat. "I mean, yes."

Tadashi blinked. "GoGo? Is everything alright?"

The girl sighed. "I want to face that Andy. When I was in my first year of college, he stole one of my projects during the night and used it to increase the speed of his car or something like that. One night he was going way over the speed limit, and when they stopped the car he said it had been my fault; that I was the one who had done that with his car without him knowing. They found a similar thing in my new project so they believed him. I could have been expelled! And I was grounded for a month. He's not going to do it again with one of my friends. Not when I'm around!"

"Oh, I see." Tadashi smirked. He knew there was no reasoning with someone like GoGo. Nothing he said was going to change her mind. "I think you should take Fred, though. He said he was working with Andy, which may help. I don't know if they're friends or what, but he certainly knows Andy better than any of us."

"Fred? But he's..." She sighed. "Ok, I will. I just thought you should know."

"Thank you for your help, GoGo. Just, please don't overdo it, alright?"

She chuckled. "I'll try. Well, I have to go. I want to leave as soon as possible. I'll let you know if I discover anything. Bye!"

"Bye." He said as GoGo hung up.

Tadashi looked at the time on the screen: 2:41pm. They had been sleeping for quite a while. Hiro didn't wake up with Tadashi talking, so the older thought it was better to let him sleep. Since he wouldn't be able to do anything until Hiro woke up, he just stared at the ceiling and started to think.

Tadashi knew he would always love and help his brother. It didn't matter if he was five, fourteen or twenty. But he wondered if older Hiro felt the same as Hiro as a five year old. Older Hiro had never been one to tell his feelings; sometimes Tadashi wondered if he even had them. Tadashi also wondered if Hiro had been like that when he was five for the first time. He knew he should remember, but he had so little contact with his brother back then... And he always regretted it. That was one of the reasons why he was enjoying that experience.

Aunt Cass told him Hiro was obsessed with him when he was ten. Well, Tadashi had had a lot of contact with Hiro when he was ten to eleven. Maybe because of puberty or school, Hiro just stopped. He started to bot-fight, to keep his emotions to himself and to push Tadashi away. Tadashi could never forget the day Hiro was twelve and entered the room limping. He said he was ok, but in the following day the older one found out Hiro had broken his leg after beating someone in a fight. And the only reason Tadashi found out was because he woke up in the middle of the night with Hiro crying in pain. He agreed to tell Aunt Cass that happened because Hiro had fallen from the stairs.

It was probably the first lie Tadashi ever found the strength to keep.

He also wondered why Hiro was so nervous when he was speaking. He already knew Hiro could do it. Hiro could read a book, for crying out loud. If Tadashi could read like that when he was five... At least Hiro was more talkative that morning. Maybe it was because he wasn't around any strangers, but Tadashi wasn't sure. He looked aside and saw the piece of sheet.

Tadashi thought about that drawing. It should have been terrible for a five year old to have to see something like a burning building killing his own brother. Actually, Tadashi was an eighteen year old and he would wake up crying if he ever dreamed of Hiro entering a burning building and dying there. That thought made him shiver as he unconsciously tightened the grip on Hiro.

Then again, the younger said he dreamed about Tadashi dying more than he would like. Was that a common subject on Hiro's mind? If so, why? More than that, did older Hiro dream about that too? If he did, he kept it to himself. Just like everything else about him.

Tadashi sighed and stroke Hiro's hair. Tadashi always found it amusing how he looked exactly like their father, while Hiro was exactly like their mother. Even the face shape. Where Hiro had gotten that messy hair from was always a mystery, though. Maybe it was just something unique.

Hiro's eyes blinked open as he yawned. He rubbed his face on Tadashi's chest before looking up at his brother.

"Mornin', Dashi."

"It's almost three in the afternoon, Hiro." He chuckled.

"Hum. Afternoon, Dashi."

Tadashi chuckled again as he softly put Hiro on the floor and stood up. The two of them stretched as Tadashi rubbed his eyes. Hiro walked over the sink to get himself a glass of water, but Tadashi had to help because Hiro couldn't reach it by himself. After drinking, the younger one rubbed his stomach.

"Hungry." He said. The older one smiled at the fact that Hiro didn't say 'Hun-gy'.

"What about we go out and eat something?"

Hiro smiled and nodded as Tadashi took his hand and led him upstairs so they could change their clothes. Tadashi's earlier thoughts seemed distant as they entered their room, getting ready to take a walk.

* * *

**Hey, didn't I say I wasn't going to update this daily?**

**So this chapter just kinda happened. I didn't know where it was going when I started and I'm not sure if I liked the way it turned out or not. It's mostly thoughts, then I hope it wasn't boring. Next chapter will have a little more dialog. I'm happy that this chapter had a little more interaction between Hiro and Tadashi, though. Even if half of it was in Tadashi's thoughts.**

**Well, I won't be able to write at all tomorrow. So I hope you enjoyed this. Once more, thanks for the support.**

**See yah!**


	6. Third rule

**I hate it when a character is played off flawlessly, and I feel like it happened with Tadashi. Even Baymax showed his foible when he was low on battery (by the way, that scene was hilarious!). On the other hand, Tadashi is always happy, always strong, always seeing the good side. I just... I do like him, but in my opinion that was a little too much.**

**Human beings make mistakes. We have flaws. We do things we regret. Even Baymax, who is a robot and had the potential to be perfect, wasn't. They humanized Baymax, we can see a little of humanity in him, and that's the reason I like him. (As Krei would say, I love that robot!)**

**So I've been trying to show Tadashi scared, afraid and unsure. For once, Tadashi doesn't have everything under control. I think that was something really lacking on the movie.**

**Well, I present you chapter six!**

* * *

Tadashi looked through the window while Hiro was in the bathroom. The sun was slowly being covered by dark clouds; a small wind began to blow as the rustling of the branches of the trees outside got louder. He walked over his part of the room and grabbed his umbrella, just to be convenient. Then he heard the sound of small steps behind him and turned around, seeing that Hiro had left the bathroom and was waiting for his big brother.

"Ready to take a walk, buddy?"

"Where... Are we g-going?"

"I'm not sure yet. Eat something, walk outside. You need to do some exercise, young man. It has been college and home, home and college for the last two days; it's time to do something different. Unless you want to go to college again, nerd." He said, teasingly ruffling his brother's hair.

"Fluffy robot is there. I wouldn't mind." Hiro shrugged and smiled as he tried to organize his hair. His efforts were useless; his hair always pointed to all the directions possible. Tadashi smiled and shook his head, approaching his younger brother and kneeling down to tie Hiro's shoes. Before he could tie Hiro's left shoe, he heard his phone ringing.

"Be right back, ok?" Tadashi said as he tapped Hiro's head. Hiro tilted his head and looked down at his untied shoe, sitting down to try to tie it himself as Tadashi walked toward his bed, where his phone was. He grabbed it and his smile faded when he saw who was calling him.

_Aunt Cass_.

He put one hand over his mouth, thoughtful, as he looked at his phone. He knew he should answer the call. He looked over his shoulder and let out a soft giggle when he saw that Hiro was staring at his feet with his arms crossed, looking as jaded as it can be because he couldn't tie his shoe.

"Hey, Hiro." Tadashi called. The young boy perked up at the mention of his name, looking at his older brother. He nodded when Tadashi asked him to be quiet, pretending to zip his mouth closed. The older one nodded in response before finally answering their aunt.

"Tadashi?"

"Hey, Aunt Cass. How are you doing?"

"Oh, it's all fine here. I just wanted to hear from my favorite nephews. How are you boys doing? How's the week going?"

"Hum... Fine. I took Hiro to visit my college. He loved one of my main projects." Tadashi bit his lip. It wasn't a lie at all. Hiro did love Baymax. Tadashi just didn't mention Hiro was five years old when he saw it.

"Is it that robotic nurse you showed me once?"

"Yeah. It took me a few tries, but I think it's finally working now!"

"I knew you would do it, Tadashi! No wonder Hiro liked it, that project is amazing."

"Thank you. It means a lot."

"Hey, it's just the truth." She smiled. "Speaking of Hiro, can I talk with him?"

Tadashi's eyes widened.

"Why?" He asked, without thinking at all. He mentally slapped himself after that question.

"Hum, because I want to talk to him, perhaps?" Cass chuckled. "Did you study for over eight hours straight again?"

"Yes! I did. That's why I'm not thinking straight." He forced a laugh and he could almost see Cass shaking her head and smiling through the phone.

"Well, can I?"

"What? Oh, Hiro." He bit his lip. "I'll call him for you." Tadashi covered the end of his phone and tapped his foot. He looked at the watch on the wall and counted from one to twenty before sighing and putting his phone to his ear again. "Hum, Hiro just entered the bathroom to take a shower. You should probably call later."

_Please believe me._

"Really? I hope he didn't do anything wrong and rushed to the bathroom to avoid a conversation if he noticed it was me who was calling."

"No, he didn't do that. Not this time, I mean." Tadashi chuckled at some memories. "He didn't know it was you. Also, we may go out to eat something after he finishes his shower, so if I don't answer any calls, that's why."

"Oh, ok. Are you sure everything is fine?"

"Yes, Aunt Cass. No need to worry."

"Good. See you soon! Tell Hiro I said hi."

"I will. See you!" He said before hanging up. Tadashi sighed and sat down on his bed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "She bought it, buddy. I thought she wouldn't... Hiro?"

Tadashi looked around his room and noticed Hiro wasn't on the spot he previously was. Tadashi wanted to slap himself in the face again when he realized he hadn't been looking at Hiro while talking on the phone with Aunt Cass. He should have known it would be enough time for the little boy to get away and have the opportunity to make a mess. The older one huffed in annoyance as he started to call for his little brother and look for him. Tadashi was calm enough, they were at home and there was nothing that could threaten Hiro's life there like there was in college.

At least that's what he thought.

* * *

Tadashi's heart stopped when he got downstairs and entered the kitchen.

It was one of those moments when one simply can't think rationally. He stood still on the bottom of the stairs, unable to move as his brain tried to assimilate the image he had in front of him.

Hiro was lying down on the floor as he tried to get up on his elbows, but failed. He was hyperventilating; his forearms were redder than they should be. A raspy sound came from his mouth, almost as if he was trying to get something off his throat. His eyes watered from the physical exertion. Hiro tried to stretch his arms to get up on his elbows once more, but he coughed and his hands slid across the floor, his head collapsing on the wood.

Tadashi snapped back to reality when his brother passed out. He shook his head before running and kneeling down by Hiro's side. His hands fluttered around his little brother, for he had no idea of what he should do.

"Hiro? Hiro!"

Tadashi looked down, staring blankly at Hiro, to make sure was breathing. The younger one fluttered his eyes open and looked up. Even if all he saw was blurred, he could never not recognize his brother. Hiro tried to reach out for Tadashi, but his hand fell on the ground when he tried to do so. He let out a forced "Dashi" before closing his eyes again.

"Hiro, what did you do? What happened? Hiro, wake up! Hiro!"

Tadashi positioned his body in order to grab Hiro and settled the little boy in his lap; Hiro's legs were draped over Tadashi's crossed leg and his head was resting on Tadashi's forearm. The older one sighed in relief when he realized Hiro hadn't exactly passed out; but he wasn't really awoken either. Tadashi glanced at an open closet under the kitchen sink and then noticed an open packing near the spot where he had found Hiro hyperventilating.

"Knucklehead! You ate peanuts again?"

Tadashi wanted to yell at Hiro for doing that, but knew it would be totally useless. Hiro didn't know what he was doing and it wasn't his fault. The older one controlled himself not to squeeze Hiro to death in his arms, but he was so scared that sweat started to go down his forehead. He couldn't go to the hospital; people there knew Hiro and they sure would be suspicious to see him as a five year old. The older one was nearly having a heart attack when an idea came to him.

"Baymax!"

The mention of the "fluffy robot" made Hiro smile for a second, but it soon faded when pain hit him again. He closed his eyes once more and laid one arm on his belly, getting on a fetal position in his brother's lap. His arms and legs were getting red, and Tadashi knew he had to hurry. The last time something like that had happened was when Hiro was around nine years old, but the memory was still clear on Tadashi's mind. He gulped as he stood up, making his best not to drop Hiro, but being careful not to hurt him and make him comfortable at the same time.

Tadashi looked from side to side as he tried to think rationally. He knew the best thing to do would be call Wasabi and ask him for a ride to the college. But he knew how slow his friend could be, even when someone's life was at risk. And more, he lived too far away. Until he got there, it could be too late. Some other options went through his mind, but he would always end up with the same conclusion: he was running out of time.

The older Hamada knew what he had to do. It was irresponsible and Aunt Cass would kill him if she found out; not to mention it was dangerous and it could end up pretty bad. But he had to get to the college and save Hiro's life.

After taking a deep breath, he went to the balcony and grabbed the keys of his motorbike. Luckly, GoGo had brought it back to the cafe the day before as a favor. Tadashi jogged to the front door, Hiro made his best to hold his older brother's shirt, but he didn't have enough strength. Tadashi's heart skipped a beat every time Hiro let out a wail. He quickly stopped to make sure his younger brother was alright. Well, as alright as one can be when they're going through an allergic reaction. His allergy was a mild one, but Tadashi knew that could end up closing Hiro's throat and keeping him from breathing.

Tadashi put on his helmet, sitting down on his motorbike. He wrapped one arm around Hiro and used his other arm to hold the handlebars, looking down at the boy in his lap. Hiro seemed to be semi-conscious, his little hand softly tugged Tadashi's shirt. Tadashi let in some air as he turned the key to turn his motorbike on. Hiro coughed and his cheeks seemed to puff for a second, but he just shivered and started to hyperventilate again.

"Are you ok?" Tadashi asked, worried. All he got for a reply was a soft nod, which Hiro gave without even opening his eyes.

_Well, that's it. _He thought as he sighed.

"Hold on, buddy!"

The older Hamada sighed one more time before he tightened the grip on Hiro. He lifted his head and gritted his teeth with determination, finally accelerating his motorbike and entering the streets.

* * *

Tadashi would be lying if he said that situation hadn't scared him to death. Besides the fear of Hiro dying in his arms, driving with one hand only while holding an infirm boy in a city like San Fransokyo was something nobody should ever have to do. He made his best to obey the law, but he certainly passed a few red lights and drove on the sidewalk more times than he would like to count. On that ride people had called him names he would never repeat, and he understood their reasons.

After that troubled ride, he finally got to his college. Tadashi left his motorbike in such a hurry that it fell on the ground with a clash; but he didn't bother enough to pick it up or even take his helmet off. Despite it being a Saturday, there were quite some students there, which made it even more difficult for Tadashi. He tried to dodge the people on his way, but his apprehension and the fact that he was holding Hiro didn't allow to run perfectly. He bumped into some people, and had it been any other day, he would have stopped and apologized.

Tadashi slammed the door of his lab open, causing a thud that could be heard all the way from the third floor. He entered the room in a jump and used his foot to kick the door behind him, closing it with another thud. He allowed himself to calm down for a moment, looking at Hiro in his arms. He was still breathing with difficulty, his little arms and legs were still red and he was starting to wheeze. But at least he seemed to be more conscious than he was when they left the house. Surely that crazy motorbike ride had been enough to wake him up. Tadashi put his brother on the floor, being careful not to let him pass out or fall. He ran to the opposite corner of the room and grabbed Baymax's luggage.

"Baymax!"

Nothing happened. Tadashi wanted to slap himself again for being so idiot. He hadn't thought about installing a voice control.

"Ow." He faked pain, knowing that was the word that would activate Baymax. Nothing happened again. "Ugh."

He made a mental note to change that later. Tadashi closed his eyes and turned to the wall, biting his lip. That was going to hurt. He lifted his foot and it took him a second before he finally kicked the wall with all of his strength.

"Ow!" He said again, but this time it was real. His eyes got watery as he let out a shriek, grabbing his foot with his hands and jumping on the other foot; making his best to keep his balance. He quickly turned his head when he heard a familiar sound: Baymax was now inflated and approached Tadashi. That was enough to make the human forget about his pain and quickly run back to Hiro, who was still sitting on the ground as he tried to breathe better. Tadashi carefully picked his brother up.

"Baymax!"

"I heard a sound of distress. What seems to be the trouble?" His robot head moved up and down. "Tadashi, you have an epidermal abrasion on your right foot. On a scale of..."

"Not now!" Tadashi interrupted. "You have to help Hiro! He's going through some kind of reaction... Allergies... I don't know!" He said, showing the boy in his arms to the robot. He watched as Baymax scanned Hiro and then approached, softly taking the boy from Tadashi's arms and putting him on a chair. Tadashi could barely breathe when Baymax made a needle appear on the tip of his finger, piercing the young boy's arm with it. Hiro let out a complaining wail and wanted to cry, but it was cut off when Baymax put a tube of oxygen over Hiro's mouth.

The young boy's eyes widened for a moment, but he relaxed into the situation when he noticed it was helping him to feel better. Tadashi watched from behind, his heart beating so loud that he swore people could hear it from outside his lab. He bit his tongue and crossed his fingers when the robot turned around with Hiro in his arms. Still a little scared from the injection, he seemed to be even more awake now. The red spots on his legs and arms seemed to be getting smaller and he was starting to breathe normally, yet he still coughed a lot.

The older Hamada approached, feeling like his heart had gone all the way down his stomach.

"Hiro has a mild allergy to peanuts. The ingestion of such may lead to have trouble breathing, feel lightheaded, or to pass out. Luckily, he was medicated fast enough. It could have been life threatening otherwise." Tadashi blinked in confusion, slowly starting to feel better when he heard what the robot was saying. His heart slowed down, his lungs relaxed. Hiro rubbed his eyes and looked up, smiling. "He will be alright."

Baymax gently handed Hiro back to Tadashi. The older Hamada pressed the younger one against his chest, letting out the most relieved sigh ever. He gave a few steps back until his back hit against the wall and he slowly slid to the ground, crossing his legs. Hiro coughed again and looked up at Tadashi, wrapping his arms around his brother's neck in a hug. Tadashi ruffled Hiro's hair and closed his eyes, returning the hug.

"Hiro, remember when I said there were only two rules? Well, now there's a third. _Never _eat anything without asking permission first, ok? You could have..."

He didn't dare to finish that sentence. It wasn't necessary anyway. Hiro was alright and that was all that mattered. He remembered that when the younger was nine years old and ate peanuts for the first time, his throat swelled up and he couldn't breathe. Tadashi was more than glad to see it hadn't happened that time.

They pulled away from the hug, but Tadashi still held his brother in his lap as he stood up and walked up to Baymax.

"Remind me to install a voice control later, ok? I don't want to have to kick the wall and hurt my toe every time you get sick, bonehead." Tadashi said, pressing his forehead against Hiro's and rubbing it softly. The young boy let out a chuckle and nodded. The moment was interrupted when he coughed, his stomach abruptly retracting.

"Before I forget," Baymax said. "The baby may experience some collateral effects from the anti-allergy I had to administer; such as coughing, hoarseness and vomiting. I suggest letting him rest for the rest of the day and don't let him eat anything that may be hard to digest. And no peanuts."

"Fluffy robot." Hiro said, trying to catch his breath as he giggled.

"I cannot deactivate until you say you are satisfied with your care."

Tadashi sighed again.

"Thank you, Baymax. I..."

"I'm sa... Satisfied with my c-care." Hiro interrupted.

Tadashi turned his head in surprise as Baymax went to his luggage and shrank. The older one gave a huge smile before sighing again.

"Are you feeling ok?"

Hiro nodded, but then looked down at his belly and let out a painful wail.

"I'm going to take you home, ok?" Tadashi looked up and chuckled. "Look at that. I didn't even take my helmet off! I sure hope no cop saw us in our way here. Aunt Cass won't be happy if she comes back home and the first thing she sees is a traffic ticket." He said as he put his helmet on a table and left his lab, walking slowly as he rubbed Hiro's back. Hiro placed his head on Tadashi's chest and took a deep breath.

Some students passed by, and Tadashi looked around as he looked for his friends. He sighed when he realized there were only strangers there. Some of them glanced at Tadashi, and he perceived they should be the ones on whom he had bumped into when he was entering the college. He forced a smile whenever he got a glance.

After walking through that hallway, he finally got to the front door. When he opened it, a soft draft went through his hair. Hiro shivered when the cold wind hit his body, making him open his eyes and look at the scenery in front of him.

"Rain." He muttered under his breath.

Tadashi looked at his brother and then looked ahead again. He hadn't noticed it before, but Hiro was right: a drizzle fell from sky, which explained the cold weather they were feeling. Hiro shivered again and rubbed his head against Tadashi's chest. The older brother sighed and put his brother on the floor, an action Hiro didn't take very well. He cocked his head and reached out.

"Dashi!"

"Just a second." Tadashi giggled. He took his jacket off and walked around Hiro, motioning for his brother to open his arms. Hiro shrugged and obeyed; watching curious as Tadashi put his jacket on his younger brother. He giggled again at the fact that Hiro practically disappeared inside the jacket, for it was way larger than his size. Then the older brother pulled the hood over his younger brother's head, nearly covering his vision. "There. It should keep you warm and dry."

Hiro pushed the hood back and looked up, worried. "B-But Dashi will be cold."

"Dashi will be just fine." He assured as he pulled the hood over Hiro's head again. Then he knelt down with his back on Hiro. "Get on."

"Hum?"

"We can't go home by motorbike. I only used it to come here because it was an emergency. Get on, I'll take you home on my back."

Hiro approached his brother, unsure. He put his hands on either shoulder of Tadashi as the older placed his hands on Hiro's legs and stood up. The boy tightened the grip he was giving on his brother and looked ahead.

"Are you ready to go?"

Hiro nodded, but seemed to hesitate.

"Dashi will be cold. You're n-not wearing your j-jacket anymore."

"It doesn't matter now. We'll get home soon."

"But I d-don't want you to be cold, T... Dashi."

Tadashi turned his head and looked at Hiro. The younger one had concern and a bit of sadness on his face.

"Why don't we make a deal? I gave you my jacket, so now you wrap your arms around me until we get home. That will keep me warm."

"Ok." Hiro said, smiling. He wrapped his arms around Tadashi's neck until his hands touched over his brother's neck; then he held his left wrist with his right hand, to make sure he was keeping Tadashi warm, like a scarf. The older one smiled and shook his head, looking at Hiro one more time to be sure the hood was over his brother's head to keep him safe from the rain. Tadashi took a deep breath and finally started to walk, leaving his college.

As he walked in the rain, his hair quickly got wet as a few drops fell on his shirt and shoulders. He shivered because of the cold; and Hiro seemed to notice, for he rubbed his sleepy head against Tadashi's shoulder to produce some heat.

"You should build a jacket like fluffy robot." Hiro said after a yawn. "He's warm."

"I will keep that in mind, Hiro." Tadashi laughed; but then he let out a grumble when he stepped on a puddle. "Better build a shoe dryer too, hum?" He chuckled.

"Hey, Dashi." Hiro said, sounding serious yet sleepy.

"Yes, Hiro?"

"I'm sorry."

The older blinked.

"Why?"

"For eat-eating that and for mak-making you bring me here... On a sat-turday... With your bike."

Tadashi stopped walking to think and looked over his shoulder to see his brother; Hiro's head was lying on Tadashi's shoulder and he had his eyes closed, yet the grip around Tadashi was tighter than ever.

"Hey, it's ok." He said, walking again.

"Thank you, Dashi. You saved my live."

"No problem. I will always be there to save you. Just try not to get into trouble, ok?"

"Ok." Hiro chuckled, yawning. "I love you, Dashi."

Tadashi stopped walking for the second time.

"I love you too, Hiro."

* * *

**You can all tell me how bad this was now.**

**Well, Hiro's allergy was a very minor thing in the movie; some people don't even remember about it. But I decided to use it to bring some interaction and some lifesaving between the Hamada brothers. I had to do some research and I was based on an allergy reaction I had around two years ago; but I never had any contact with peanut allergy itself, so I'm sorry if I got anything wrong. If I did, please forgive me.**

**Also, thanks for the support again. To everyone who sent me a message asking about this story, thank you too. I hope I didn't disappoint you guys with this chapter!**

**I hope you enjoyed this. Thank you for reading!**


	7. When you wake up

**My big exam is finally done! I couldn't take studying any longer. It feels so good to be able to write again!**

**Also, thanks everyone for the suggestions. Unfortunately, I don't ship Tadashi/GoGo or Tadashi/Honey. I have nothing against those pairings and I don't hate them; I'm just not a shipper. So romance won't be something I'll include in this like some people were suggesting. Tadashi and Hiro's relation as brothers is what I like about the movie. I hope you keep enjoying this story regardless; and sorry if I disappointed you.**

**Also, the first part of this story was originally a one-shot I had planned for the fandom. I canceled it because it didn't feel right to have something so vague for a one-shot; but thanks Heaven I didn't delete it! It came in handy.**

**Well, this note is quite big already, so enjoy!**

* * *

_Tadashi walked beside his aunt Cass, looking ahead. He made his best not to run, but the excitement_ _going through his body made that a nearly impossible mission to accomplish._ Cass_ had to pull her nephew back more often than not, for he kept trying to push her to make her go faster._

_"Aunt Cass, come on!" Tadashi had been on that hospital before, but it had never felt that big. He even turned his head and looked behind him to make sure they weren't walking backwards. No, they weren't._

_Cass laughed at the little boy and held his hand tighter to keep him from escaping. "Calm down, Tadashi. Your parents aren't going anywhere, and neither is their baby. We don't have to hurry."_

_"But I want to see my new brother or sister! I've been waiting for almost a year now; I don't want to wait anymore!" He wailed and stamped his foot, annoyed, but still happy and excited._

_"Tadashi, you only had to wait nine months. Not even that, actually, since that baby came a month earlier than expected. Thanks Heaven he's alright. Or maybe it's 'she's alright'. Your parents really wanted to keep it a surprise, hum? What do you want it to be, Tadashi? A boy or a girl?"_

_"I don't really care. Whether it's a little sister or a little brother, I'm finally going to have someone to play with me. I'm so happy!"_

_Cass chuckled again and kept walking. Tadashi tried to calm down, but his heart started to beat faster and his smile grew bigger with every step he gave toward the doors by the end of the hallway. He knew he'd soon be seeing his new sibling, who had just been born! He could barely believe it. Then he felt his heart beating fast again, but there was a new feeling along the previous happiness. It took him a moment, but Tadashi finally realized he was nervous._

_"Hey, Aunt Cass... Do you think the baby will like me?"_

_She turned her head to look down at her nephew. His face previously filled with joy was now full of concern and jitters; but he still made his best to keep smiling. He was happy, after all._

_"Of course the baby will, Tadashi. The younger siblings always look up to the older ones. I know from experience. Your mother wasn't much older than you when I was born, you know." She said, looking up and giggling at some memories._

_She finally released his hand as they walked through a door. He walked by her side for a few seconds, but then Tadashi ran and pressed his face against the glass as he searched the cradles of newborns._

_Cass laughed again, talking to the nurse and going to Tadashi's side._

_"Which one is it? Which one is the new Hamada?" He asked, frantically looking from side to side._

_"The baby is still with the mother." The nurse said, pointing to a door on the opposite corner of the room. "This way."_

_Cass took Tadashi's hand again as they followed the nurse. He grew more and more nervous as they walked through the maternity ward; looking around and trying to take deep breaths. His baby brother or sister had finally arrived! The moment he had been waiting for the last months was there. But he never thought it would make him so nervous._

_'What if the baby doesn't like me? What if I don't get to be a good brother? What if the baby...'_

_He stopped thinking when the nurse opened the door. His heart started to beat fast again as he laid his eyes on his mother. She was in bed, wearing a blue hospital gown. Her hair was still a little messy, her husband standing over her as he passed his hand through her hair. Tadashi gulped and felt his legs freeze. He would have stayed like that forever if Aunt Cass hadn't tapped his back, as in telling him it was alright._

_As he approached his parents, he noticed they were staring down at a small bundle in his mother's arms. He gulped again, but relaxed a little when his mother looked at him and smiled._

_"Tadashi!" She said, happily. "Come see your new baby brother."_

_"B-Brother?" He tilted his head as he slowly walked toward the bed, giving a soft smile. He could feel his hands shaking. "So it's a boy?"_

_His parents nodded with smiles on their faces. When he finally got close to the bed, Tadashi tip-toed. His mother held out the bundle as he placed his hands on the bed to get a closer look._

_Wrapped in a blanked was a little, round, white head. The baby had black, messy hair; that seemed to point at all the directions possible. His little eyes were closed as he slept peacefully._

_"My brother." Tadashi whispered in awe, almost in shock._

_His father chuckled and went to Tadashi, lifting his elder son onto the bed. The boy kept staring blankly at the baby, begging the gods it wasn't all just a dream._

_'A brother. I have a brother now.' He thought to himself. 'And he's so cute!'_

_"Do you want to hold him?" His mother asked, trying to organize the baby's hair._

_Tadashi nodded and reached out his hands, but then hesitated and bit his lip._

_"What if I drop him? What if I wake him up? What if he cries?"_

_His mother chuckled. "You'll be fine. But be very careful, he's sleeping."_

_She gently handed the bundle to Tadashi and the boy held the baby close to his chest. He was surprised at how light that baby was; almost like holding a little tuft of cloud._

_"He's so... Cute. And so tiny." He said, his smile growing. "What's his name?" Tadashi asked, looking up at his parents and aunt._

_"Hiro. Hiro Hamada." His father answered._

_"Hiro... I like the sound of it." He said as he looked back to the infant. "I'm your big brother, Tadashi." He said, softly rocking the baby in his arms and smiling._

_Tadashi's smile quickly turned into a frown when the baby's eyes fluttered open. Two brown eyes stared up at him in wonder. Hiro tilted his head, causing his older brother to get apprehensive and hold his breath._

_'Oh, no.' He thought. 'He's going to cry. That's it, he doesn't like m...'_

_Then Hiro smiled._

_Tadashi felt like something inside his chest was melting. His heart slowed down when he looked at his brother's happy face, relieved that Hiro was not going to cry._

_"He likes me!" Tadashi exclaimed, still stuttering a little from his previous nervousness. "Hiro likes me!"_

_The adults exchanged looks and laughed as Tadashi kept looking at his brother's smile, smiling as well. He had never felt anything like that before; he just wanted to keep smiling forever and never wanted to let his brother go._

_"So I guess you like him too?" His mother asked._

_"Are you kidding me?" Tadashi exclaimed once more. "I love him! He's the most perfect baby brother that has ever lived! I love you, Hiro." He said as he gave his brother a gentle squeeze._

_The adults smiled again. As they started to talk, Tadashi couldn't take his eyes off his little brother. He was so tiny, so cute and so delicate. That was not how he imagined holding his sibling would be like. It was way better. It was something he'd never be able to describe, not even when he got older._

_"I'll always be with you, Hiro. I'll be the best older brother you could ever have. I love you already, and I always will." He whispered, softly caressing his brother's hair._

* * *

The flashback went through Tadashi's mind like if he was watching a movie. He was just a kid when Hiro was born, which was the reason why he could never really remember that day. But after Hiro had been turned into a five year old again, very clear and specific memories that he didn't even know he had were starting to come back.

The rain still fell from the sky when he finally got to the Lucky Cat Cafe. It was starting to get heavier by the second, and by the time he unlocked the front door a few lightings had started to fill the surroundings. The house was dark, even if it was hardly even 4pm yet. Tadashi glanced at Hiro's head, which fell loosely on his shoulder as the young boy slept.

Tadashi slowly went upstairs to their room, being careful to avoid the squeaky stairs and floorboards. He heard the sound of the raindrops get louder outside, pounding harsh against the windows, meaning that a storm was coming. Suddenly, a flash filled the room and the sleeping boy gasped awake after a thunder, tightening the grip around Tadashi's neck as he shrank in fear.

"Dashi..." He muttered, still a little sleepy.

"Hey, it's alright, buddy." The older one said, even if the sudden thunder had startled him as well. "The rain can't get to you when you're inside." He took off his jacket from his brother, tossing it aside. It hit the floor with a wet thud as Hiro rubbed his sleepy eyes. He walked up to his bed and looked to the window; the drops ran down the glass and cooled the lightning lit room.

Tadashi saw Hiro sit down on his bed and grab his stuffed robot. Then the older Hamada went to the bathroom and grabbed a towel, rubbing it on his hair several times to get rid of the water. His shirt was all wet, except for the shoulders; thanks to Hiro's warm embrace all the way home. Tadashi chuckled when he looked to the mirror and saw his reflection; that towel had made his hair messy and now he was looking like an older, short haired version of Hiro. He passed his hand through his slightly wet hair to make it go back to normal before going back to his room.

"Hey, buddy, did you know... Oh, no."

The little boy was sitting on the corner of his bed, one hand over his stomach and the other one covering his mouth. His stuffed robot was now on the floor and he was bending forward. Tadashi knew what that meant. He jogged to Hiro's side, his hands fluttering around his brother's personal space.

"Hiro? Stay calm, ok?" He bit his finger as he tried to think. "I'll take you to the bathroom, ok? Try... Try not to... Try to hold it back until we get there." He said, slowly putting one arm on Hiro's shoulder and snaking his other arm under Hiro's legs. He stood up and carried Hiro to the bathroom, trying not to show how apprehensive he was. Hiro took his hand of his mouth and tried to catch his breath, quickly putting it back when his cheeks puffed again.

"It's ok, buddy. It's ok." Tadashi slowly put Hiro on the floor and knelt down by his side, rubbing his brother's back to make him calm down. Hiro's tiny hands grabbed the toilet seat as he took fast and deep breaths. He looked aside to make sure Tadashi was there. His older brother smiled and softly tapped Hiro's back, taking deep breaths himself.

"It's ok." He repeated.

Hiro finally bent his head over the toilet seat.

Tadashi sat down on the floor, rubbing his forehead as he watched Hiro. His heart hurt to see his little brother going through something as painful as that, but Baymax had said vomiting could be one of the collateral effects. Then he started to remember something, allowing his mind to travel back to the past for a while.

It was Tadashi's sixth birthday. Hiro was spending the day with their Aunt Cass so Tadashi could enjoy his special day with no interruptions. After his parents had taken him to the movie theater, they went back home and prepared him a chocolate cake with ice cream and several other treats. However, the young boy went overboard with the sweets, which put him in a similar situation to the one he was going through on that moment with Hiro; except he was now playing the role his mother had played.

He could remember the scene like it had been the day before. He could almost see his mother rubbing his back and whispering that everything was going to be alright. Once he was fine, she chuckled and said that she was going to give him a smaller cake the next year. Then she put him in bed and sang him the same lullaby he had sang Hiro the night before. Well, he had tried to sing it, but he couldn't remember the lyrics. How was it? It went something along the lines of...

Tadashi snapped back to reality when his brother coughed. Hiro wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt, closing his eyes as he coughed once more.

"Are you done there?" Tadashi said, sounding as sweet as he could sound.

Still with his head bent over the toilet seat, Hiro nodded. His cheeks were red and his eyes were watery; and Tadashi assumed Hiro's stomach hurt, for the young boy moved his hand over to his belly. Tadashi tapped Hiro's back once more before standing up and going to the sink, soaking a small part of the towel he had used to dry his hair. Hiro looked up at his brother to see what he was doing.

"Dashi?"

"Here." Tadashi said, approaching Hiro and kneeling down again. He pressed the damp towel to his brother's red face, trying to make him feel better. "Don't breathe like that. Breathe slowly and take deep breaths. It'll help you to feel better."

Hiro nodded as Tadashi kept wiping his face with the towel. A few drops of sweat went down Hiro's forehead from the physical exertion. He stuck his tongue out and shook his head, clearly disgusted with that situation. Tadashi chuckled a little and after Hiro's face went back to its normal color, Tadashi took his brother to the sink and turned the faucet on.

"Here, wash your mouth. You'll be alright."

Coughing once more, Hiro reached out for the water and did as his brother told him. After he rinsed out his mouth, Hiro stood still for a few minutes; Tadashi always by his side tapping his back. Another thunder outside caused Hiro to get startled, nearly falling over, but Tadashi caught him just in time.

"Calm down, it's just a thunder." He said, taking his brother back to his bed. Tadashi attempted to lay Hiro down, but the young boy pulled him away reluctantly.

"I don't like rain." Hiro said in his tiny voice. Tadashi tilted his head and watched as Hiro squatted on his bed, putting his arms around his knees and bowing his head. "It's sc-cary."

The older one sighed and looked to the window. More thunders and more lightning, the drops still falling down like bullets against the window. He softly smiled, poking Hiro's head. The younger one slowly started to lift his head; his fear filled eyes looked up at Tadashi, who made his best to give the most comforting smile he could. Then he sat down on the bed. He didn't know exactly what he was going to do, but he knew he couldn't leave Hiro alone.

"It's okay to be afraid. But the rain can't get you here. Neither do the thunders, or the lightning. You're safe."

Hiro slowly stretched his legs, feeling a little more relaxed. He scooted over the bed until he was by Tadashi's side and slowly scrambled into Tadashi's lap, wrapping his arms around him. Tadashi didn't think twice before returning the hug. Another thunder and he could feel Hiro's heart jumping inside his little chest. Tadashi looked down at the scared boy; noticing his eyes were scrunched closed, as tight as the hug he was giving his older brother.

"Make it stop..." Hiro said, sniffing.

Tadashi closed his eyes as well, starting to softly rock their bodies together to calm his brother down. "I can't make it stop, Hiro. I'm sorry. But don't worry, every storm runs out of rain, even the big ones like this. And more, the rain can't hurt you. Not when you're inside the house. And again, I'm here. I won't let anything bad happen to you."

Hiro sobbed once more and got out of Tadashi's lap, sitting by his side. The little boy lied down on the bed, using Tadashi's legs as a pillow. He sighed, feeling a little more relaxed.

"I need you, Dashi. Thank you."

Tadashi smiled and softly caressed his brother's hair. Hiro yawned, sighing once more. "No problem, buddy. No problem at all. And believe me when I say I need you too. More than you could ever imagine."

Another thunder rumbled outside. Hiro let out a painful wail as he covered his ears with his hands, shrinking in fear. Tadashi frowned in confusion. Why was Hiro so scared of a storm? It could be scary for a little kid, but Hiro's fear seemed to be something nearly irrational. Tadashi made a mental note to casually ask Aunt Cass about that later.

Hiro yawned and closed his eyes. Tadashi softly tapped his brother's shoulder, causing Hiro to sit up by Tadashi's side and tilt his head. Tadashi stood up and grabbed Hiro on his lap, sitting down on the bed with his back pressed against the headboard of Hiro's bed and Hiro lying on top of him. The young boy smiled and leaned his head against his brother's shoulder, looking up at Tadashi. He felt something being draped over them, and saw Tadashi pulling the blanket up.

"Comfy." Hiro said.

"Yeah."

"Hey, Dashi?"

"Yes, Hiro?"

"C-Can you sing me a lullaby?"

Tadashi raised an eyebrow. "A lullaby?"

Hiro looked up at his brother and nodded. "I want to hear somet-thing ot-ther th-than thunders."

"Well, hum... I never had to sing a lullaby before, so... I don't know. I don't think I can do it..."

"Please?"

Hiro gasped when he heard another thunder, closing his eyes. Tadashi sighed. He could remember the lullaby his mother used to sing him, but it killed him that he couldn't remember the lyrics. He sighed and tightened the hug he was giving on Hiro, as he softly started to 'hum' it like he had done the night before. But the noise of the rain falling outside, alongside the thunders made it hard for Hiro to hear him.

"I... I can't hear it."

Tadashi let out some air and ruffled Hiro's hair. He looked to the window and starting singing the first words that came to his mind; following the rhythm of his mother's lullaby.

_Little Hiro,  
Be not afraid  
The rain pounds harsh  
Against the glass_

Hiro looked up at Tadashi, and the older one felt something similar to when he was a kid and held his baby brother for the very first time and thought he was going to cry. Just like when he was a baby, Hiro smiled. Tadashi mentally sighed in relief as Hiro rubbed his head against Tadashi's chest. He closed his eyes, waiting for his brother to continue, but all he heard was silence. Hiro opened his eyes, annoyed, and tilted his head as in meaning 'What are you waiting for?'

"Fine, I can take a hint." Tadashi giggled, caressing Hiro's hair. He looked around one more time and hummed a few notes more before he tried to come up with something else. He could fell Hiro's heartbeat was slowing down as he relaxed onto his brother's embrace and closed his eyes again.

_It's like an unwanted stranger  
But there's no danger  
And I won't leave you behind_

Hiro heard Tadashi's voice and didn't seem to notice another thunder outside. If he did notice, he didn't mind it. Tadashi hummed for a while as he looked around once more and softly rocked Hiro back and forth to calm him down.

_The storm clouds mask the sun  
And darken your day  
But they will go away  
Once a new day has begun_

In his lap, Tadashi could feel Hiro softly bobbing his head to the lullaby. He yawned once more and rubbed his eyes. Tadashi felt a cold draft and pulled the blanket up a little more until Hiro was fully covered. He tugged Tadashi's shirt and rubbed his head against his brother's chest again. He loved to hear Tadashi's voice, nearly as much as he loved to hear Tadashi's heartbeat.

"Dashi singing." He giggled, without even opening his eyes.

"Hey, I told you I wasn't good at this." Tadashi smiled, playfully ruffling his brother's hair.

"No... I like it."

A little surprised, Tadashi smiled again and thought a little to come up with another verse. He could almost see his mother there, singing him her lullaby when he was too scared to sleep.

_Once, I also_  
_Was a little child_  
_And I was afraid_

He stopped singing for a moment, he wasn't sure why. He shook his head when Hiro tugged on his shirt again to get his attention after Tadashi stopped singing out of nowhere.

_But a gentle someone always came_  
_To dry all my tears_  
_Keep away the fears_  
_And to give a kiss goodnight_

Tadashi hadn't created that part. He had at last remembered the lyrics, and his own heart started to beat fast when he realized it.

_Well, now I am grown_  
_And these years have shown_  
_Fears are a part of life as it goes_  
_But it's cold and it's late_  
_So I'll hold you and wait_  
_'til your frightened eyes do close_

Hiro was about to drift off when the loudest thunder he had ever heard rumbled outside. He gasped in fear, kicking the blanket away as his heart started to beat so fast that Tadashi could hear it even if he wasn't near his brother's chest. Tadashi held him tight to keep him from falling out of the bed, and it took Hiro a few minutes to calm down again.

"Hush, it's ok, Hiro."

The young boy pouted.

"I just want it to st-stop..."

Tadashi tapped Hiro's back again. The young boy clutched his stomach, and Tadashi could tell it still hurt from earlier.

"The rain will stop soon, and so will your pain."

"Ok..." Hiro muttered, fear in his voice. The older one looked at the ceiling, covering his brother's eyes with his hand when he saw a lightning. Then he reached for the blanket and draped it over Hiro and himself again to keep them warm.

_I understand your fear  
But remember, I'm here  
The thunders may give you nightmares  
But they're not real, understand  
So just hold my hand  
I won't leave you behind_

Tadashi sighed when he heard Hiro's heart calming down.

_So just close your eyes  
No reason to cry  
Everything will be fine when you wake up_

Tadashi looked down, Hiro's eyes were open a crack to look at his brother singing.

_The rain will be gone when you wake up  
The thunders will be gone when you wake up_

Hiro finally closed his eyes and took a deep breath, smiling and relaxing again.

_But I'll still be here when you wake up..._

Tadashi whispered that last line looking down at Hiro's face. The young boy wasn't moving or speaking anymore; he just lied down on Tadashi's lap as his chest softly went up and down. The older brother sighed and relaxed, pressing his head against the headboard. It had taken a while, but Hiro was finally sleeping. His mind went back to Hiro eating the peanuts, the crazy drive to the college, kicking the wall to activate Baymax, going home under the rain and helping Hiro when he felt sick. Now there they were.

It had been one tiring day. Tadashi could use some rest. He looked down at Hiro one more time to make sure he was sleeping and alright, before putting his head against the headboard again; closing his eyes and finally dozing off.

* * *

**I tried so hard not to write Tadashi singing because it seemed a little silly, but I couldn't help myself. And no, those lyrics aren't mine. I just changed them a little to fit the story more, but they belong to Vienna Teng, from her song called "Lullaby for a stormy night" (Come on, it fits so well!). I was dying to write some more interaction between Hiro and Tadashi. This fic is about them, after all.**

**GoGo was going to appear at the ending to tell Tadashi something, but since this chapter was already too long I decided to stop it here. I don't like when my chapters have more than 5,000 words, so yeah. And Hiro is super scared of storms, the poor little boy. Don't worry, you'll understand why later on! (Yes, there's more to it than just being scared because of the noises).**

**That's it for now. I hope you liked this chapter! Thanks for reading and see you soon.**


	8. Memories

**This took a little longer than I expected... And it turned out a little different too. You're probably going to hate me for this chapter, but hey, I told you Tadashi is not perfect. At least not in my fics.**

**I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Tadashi lazily moved his hand over to his eyes and rubbed them, trying to wake himself up. He sat up on his elbows and the first thing he did was to look down to the right and make sure Hiro was alright. The small boy still slept peacefully by his brother's side and didn't show any signs of waking up anytime soon.

Tadashi smiled and pulled Hiro's blanket up, until his little brother was warm enough. Then he got out of the bed, moving as slowly as he could to keep Hiro from waking up, and started to walk to his part of the room. After stepping on a squeaky floorboard, he froze in place and slowly turned around, sighing in relief when he saw that Hiro was still sleeping.

The older Hamada felt refreshed. He hadn't had a full night of rest ever since the accident with Hiro, and that nap was exactly what he needed. Stretching, he looked to the window and saw that the streets were still wet from the storm earlier; the weather was still cold and a heavy fog surrounded the trees outside as a few lonely drops still fell from the sky.

Tapping his pockets, he looked for his phone. He frowned when he didn't feel anything, but before he could think about where he had left it he heard it ringing somewhere. He looked around, trying to identify the source of the ringtone before it got loud enough to wake Hiro up.

Tadashi rushed to the desk after he saw his phone out of the corner of his eyes. He held his breath when he saw Hiro roll over on the bed, but sighed in relief when the boy didn't open his eyes. He finally pressed the answer button without even checking who it was and put the phone near his ear.

"Hello, Tadashi Hamada here."

"FINALLY!" GoGo's voice said in an eruption of fury on the other end. Tadashi cringed and moved the phone away from his ear, but the girl was talking so loudly that he could hear her regardless. "I've called you like, ten times already! Where were you during the last hours?! I was almost invading your house!"

Tadashi put his phone to his ear again and sighed. "Hey, nice to talk to you too, GoGo." He said with a little sarcasm in his voice. "I'm sorry, it's... It's a long story. Hiro was sick and I had to take him to college, then we came back and fell asleep... Never mind. I'm sorry. What is it you want?"

"Oh, he was sick? Sorry." She sighed and said in a regretful tone, still not quite apologizing yet. GoGo wouldn't apologize. "Anyway... I called to tell you I went to see that Andy with Fred. And we got some information that could be useful." She looked down at her notebook with the annotations she had taken.

"Really? So he actually helped you?"

"Well... It wasn't really easy."

"He refused to tell you at first or something?"

"What? No; it's because he's an idiot. It's no surprise he was friends with Fred. Can you believe he said he didn't remember he had stolen my project a few years ago? He couldn't even remember how he built that thing! It took him about two hours to remember a few details and formulas... I don't really know, it's not my major. And dear lord, I wanted to die when he and Fred started to catch up." She let out an annoyed sigh. "But I called Honey Lemon and she said that the information I have now may allow us to fix the gun."

"GoGo, that's great! I don't even know how to thank you for your help. I know it must have been hard for you to listen to Andy."

"Dear lord, it was!" She groaned. "But hey, no problem. But we have to start working on it as soon as possible if we want to finish it before your aunt Cass comes back home. When does she come back?"

"I'm not sure, most likely after tomorrow, on Monday." He bit his lower lip. "Do you think it's enough time to bring him back?"

"If we start working as soon as possible like I said, sure. Do you think we could meet in your garage and work on it there? We may need your help."

"Of course. I'll be waiting for you. Who's coming?"

"Everyone. I'll just go to college to get the gun and then we'll all go to your house. We'll be there as soon as possible, ok?"

"Ok." He smiled. "Thank you very, very much, GoGo. Oh, since you're going to college, do you think you can go to my lab and bring Baymax to me? I have to work a little more on him."

"Ok, I will. By the way, how's Hiro?"

"Oh, he's fine now. He's been asleep for a while." Tadashi turned his head to look at Hiro's bed behind him and saw the boy who slept peacefully. "And I don't think he'll be waking up anytime soon."

"Good, I'm glad he's fine." GoGo smiled as she looked to her wristwatch. "Well, I have to hurry now if I want to get to college before it closes. We'll be there soon, ok?"

"Ok. Please, bring Baymax with you."

"I will. See you!"

"See you." Tadashi tossed his phone aside and it fell on his bed. He walked up to Hiro's bed and caressed his brother's hair; smiling when the boy smiled in his sleep. He was so small, so innocent and so defenseless. Tadashi sat down on the chair and kept watching Hiro; trying to organize the thoughts inside his head. Hiro was five years old again; he said he loved Tadashi, he was scared of losing Tadashi, he wanted Tadashi to hold him all the time and he talked to Tadashi. It was a little hard to believe that boy was his brother, Hiro.

In those few days, Hiro and Tadashi were having more interaction than they had in fourteen years. The older brother sighed and glanced at the desk. He saw Hiro's megabot lying there, beside its control remote. Something inside Tadashi told him to throw that away, hug Hiro and never let him go. But he knew he couldn't. First off, it would be wrong. Even if he didn't approve the bot fights, he couldn't just get rid of that robot. It belonged to Hiro. Secondly, he couldn't hold Hiro forever. Hiro was going to grow up; they would go live in separated houses and barely see each other.

That was the reason Tadashi knew they should enjoy it while they still lived together, but how could he do it when Hiro didn't allow him to get close? How could he do it when Hiro was always out in those bot-fights?

After sighing, Tadashi reached out and caressed Hiro's cheek. The young boy took a small breath and shifted a little, which made Tadashi let out a giggle. He slowly got out of his chair and knelt down by Hiro's side, kissing him on the cheek. Hiro opened his eyes a crack and looked to his brother. The older one blinked in surprise; but Hiro just smiled and closed his eyes once more, falling asleep again in less than three seconds.

"I love you, Hiro." He whispered, caressing Hiro's hair again.

Tadashi looked up and shook his head, smiling. He stood up, turned the lampshade off and walked out of the room, but made sure to leave the door open. If Hiro woke up and needed him, he could just walk and get to Tadashi. In fact, if Hiro woke up and called for Tadashi the older one would be there before Hiro could even think of standing up and walking.

Because Tadashi was always going to be there for his younger brother; even when Hiro didn't want him to.

* * *

A few minutes after he left his room, the bell rang and Tadashi rushed downstairs to go open the door. His four friends were waiting for him on the outside; they all wore jackets because of the cold. GoGo held a notebook and a tablet, Honey Lemon held a tube with a pink substance that Tadashi couldn't identify, Wasabi held a box of tools and Fred carried Baymax's luggage.

"Hey, Tadashi." They said at the same time, almost as if they had rehearsed it.

"Hey, guys!" The Hamada greeted. "Thank you for coming so fast! Come on in, it's still cold outside." He said as got out of the doorway so his friends could go through it.

"No problem at all!" Honey Lemon said as she entered the house in little jumps and looked around. "Where is our favorite toddler?"

"Sleeping upstairs. You wouldn't believe the day I had today because of him. I don't like the fact that he's sleeping because of a drug, but maybe it'll be better this way. It'll be easier for us to work if he's not around." He shrugged and sighed.

"Drug? You mean like a pill or something?" Wasabi asked with a worried look on his face. "Why? What happened?"

"Let's go to the garage and get things ready so we can work. I'll tell you in the meantime."

Everyone nodded as Tadashi opened the door that would lead them to the garage.

* * *

"And then I brought him home." Tadashi said between grunts as he pushed a couch out of the way to make room for them and Wasabi pulled a table to the middle of the room.

"Wow." GoGo said as she flipped through her notebook. "You mean you really drove with one hand only while carrying Hiro? I mean, come on, you used to argue with me because I liked to run after school and used to bump into people."

"The poor little thing!" Honey Lemon said as she put her hand on her chest and sighed. "I can't imagine how scared he was when he couldn't breathe and had no idea of what was happening!"

"I'm glad you two are alright. But you should have called me, Tadashi. I could have given you a ride." Wasabi said, putting his tool box on the table and opening it as Tadashi approached his friends.

"Dude, you ride so slowly that by the time you got to college Hiro would be fourteen again." GoGo said, causing everyone to giggle and nod shyly.

"Haha, very funny." The black boy replied, not amused at all.

"Let's get this thing done! As much as I think Hiro is adorable as a kid, I don't want Cass to kill Tadashi." Honey laughed as she looked to Tadashi and the boy shook his head, looking up and holding out his hands.

"Same here. I don't even want to imagine what she would do if she saw him like that!" He then bit his lip and nodded toward the door behind him. "I'll just... Is it ok if I go see if he's alright one last time before we start working? I mean..." He said as he looked down and rubbed his hands together.

All his friends exchanged looks and smiled. "We know it. You're afraid that something bad will happen to Hiro if you don't check on him as much as you can." GoGo softly shook her head when Tadashi nodded. "We don't mind at all. Go see how he's doing, even if I'm sure he's fine. Just try not to be a paranoid, ok?"

"I guess it's just a big brother's thing." He shrugged as he put his hands on his pockets. "I'll be right back, ok?" He said and walked out of the garage. Fred put Baymax's luggage on the floor and jogged to follow Tadashi. He managed to reach the Hamada right when he was in the kitchen and held his arm.

"Hey, Tadashi."

"Hum?" Tadashi said, gasping a little at the sudden touch, but he calmed down and smiled when he realized it was just Fred. "Oh, hey, Fred. What do you want?"

The blond boy put his hands together and nervously started to swing his body back and forth as he looked down. "I just wanted to say that I realized that I never really apologized for causing all of this... You know, for turning Hiro into a five year old boy and losing him that day on the college, so... Do you think you can forgive me?" He said, scratching the back of his head.

"Oh, about that? Don't worry about it, Fred. I won't lie to you, I'm still a little mad at this situation. But Hiro is fine and that's all that matters to me. Also, I never thought I would say this, but having him as a kid again is being interesting. Exhausting, but interesting. So... Don't worry about it. I know you never meant any of this. We're friends and we'll always be friends. Right?" He said, showing his fist to Fred. The blond boy smiled and showed his fist as well, softly hitting Tadashi's with his.

"Right! Thank you very much, Tadashi. Now go check on the boy, we have some work to do!" Fred said, turning around and jumping over the flight of stairs to go back to the garage. Tadashi smiled and shook his head before opening the door of his room and looking at Hiro's bed. He was still sleeping and seemed to be fine. The older one sighed in relief and stepped inside the room, but shook his head and stepped back outside. Hiro was ok; Tadashi didn't need to go inside check on him. He was being paranoid over Hiro again.

_It's just a big brother's thing_; he thought to himself as he went back to the garage.

* * *

"I think we should stop working for today." Tadashi said as he slumped down into the chair on the garage and pinched the bridge of his nose; his eyelids getting heavier by the minute. "It's past midnight; your parents must be worried about you guys."

"Hum? Oh, right, yeah, our parents..." Honey said as yawned and rubbed her eyes, trying to stretch her body. "I think I could work more, but... I'm getting sort of tired."

"Same here." Wasabi let out a heavy sigh as he rubbed his eyes as well. "I'll go to the bathroom to wash my face so I can take us home." He said and stood up, walking away. Tadashi looked down to the table and saw everything they had done, from annotations to prototypes and formulas. They had been working for hours straight, but at least they were going somewhere.

"I still had some hope we could have this finished by the end of the day, but I guess we can finish it tomorrow." GoGo said as she folded her arms and popped her gum, closing her notebook. "Hey, Fred, time to go home." She said as she slapped him on the forehead. He was sleeping on the couch and quickly bolted upright after GoGo's touch. "I'm awake, I'm awake!" Fred said, with his eyes still closed.

"Thank you for everything, guys. I don't even know what I would do without you. Sorry if this kept you awake until now." Tadashi said as he stood up and picked the keys to open the garage door. "Do you want me to go with you to the car?"

"No, we should be fine." GoGo said as Wasabi returned, looking a little more refreshed and less sleepy.

"Thank you again. So we see each other again tomorrow?"

"Hey, no problem." Honey smiled. "And sure, we're really close to finishing this!"

"Yeah, but now come on, I need to give everyone a ride and I still need to shower before I go to bed." Wasabi called. Everyone stood up from their places; Tadashi watched them walking away and waved goodbye before closing the garage door.

After rubbing his eyes, Tadashi walked to the corner of the room and picked Baymax's luggage up, placing it on another table next to the computer desk. Even if he was tired, he thought he could start working on the robot right away. Alone in the garage, he turned some more lights on and opened the luggage.

* * *

Tadashi took a deep breath and looked at the watch on the wall. It was almost 1am and because of that he dropped the tool he was holding and relaxed his body onto the chair, rubbing his eyes. He was wondering whether he should stop working or not when his thoughts were interrupted by a tiny voice coming from behind him.

"Dashi?"

Tadashi's eyes shot open as he gasped and swiveled the chair around, startled at the sudden voice in that silence. When he was calm enough, he saw Hiro standing on the doorway, a little startled because of his brother's reaction. The older sighed and put his hand on his chest.

"Hey, buddy. You startled me!" He smiled and opened his arms, inviting Hiro for a hug. The little boy seemed to hesitate before giving a single step toward Tadashi. He had his hands on his back and looked down, as if he was embarrassed. Tadashi cocked his head, confused to why Hiro wasn't approaching him, until he noticed his brother's hands.

"What do you have there, Hiro?" Tadashi asked, raising his eyebrow and smiling. "Did you steal some candy or anything like that?"

Hiro shook his head but expression remained the same, filled with sadness mixed with some guilty and maybe curiosity. He looked up at Tadashi; his big brown eyes were almost teary. The older one frowned a little, but then smiled again.

"Come on, what do you have there, buddy? You can show me, I promise I won't be mad." He said, already expecting Hiro to show him something he had broken or anything like that, but Hiro sighed and revealed a picture frame.

"A frame? Why did you..." Tadashi said as he reached out and took the object from his brother's hands, turning it over, but he froze in place when he did so.

Tadashi's expression changed to a frown when he laid his eyes on the picture that was on the frame. It depicted the image of a younger Tadashi wearing a suit standing in front of a well-dressed couple, and the man had his hand on Tadashi's shoulder while the woman held a toddler with messy hair. They all had smiles in their faces and looked as natural as can be; like if everything about them was perfect.

"Hiro." Tadashi said, no emotion in his voice, as he looked at the picture. He sounded somehow angry, but restrained. "Where did you find this?"

"I-In our room..." Hiro said, looking down. He had never seen his brother like that, so he gave a small step back. "Inside your drawer. I was looking for you and s-saw it."

"You shouldn't have picked it up. It was inside my drawer for a reason. I don't want to see this."

"But isn't it m-mom and dad?"

Tadashi put the frame on the table with the picture faced down and stood up; looking down at Hiro with such a serious look in his face that Hiro shrank in fear.

"Yeah, it's them. But it doesn't matter now. Let's get you back in bed, ok?" Tadashi dodged Hiro and went through the door, entering the house and leaving the garage. He expected Hiro to follow him inside, but the young boy approached the table, tip-toed and grabbed the frame on the table again before going after his brother.

"Dashi, I want-ted to ask about mom and d..."

"They're gone, Hiro." Tadashi sounded angrier than he wanted to, but talking about his parents wasn't something he enjoyed doing. That was the last picture they ever took as a family before they passed away, and looking at it hurt him. "Nothing about them really matters now."

"When will they c-come back?" Hiro asked, forcing a smile as he looked down at the picture he held in his hands. Tadashi took a deep breath and finally turned around, looking at the boy in front of him.

"They will never come back." He said in way that made it sound like he was done with that conversation and hoped Hiro would take a hint.

"Why not?" He asked, his smile fading away.

"They're dead, Hiro. Forget it." Tadashi said, again sounding like he was done with that as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"But... I don't want to forget mom and..." Hiro said, lifting the frame to show it to Tadashi.

"Hiro, they're gone. It's no use." He said, pushing Hiro's hands down with his.

"But..." Hiro said as he lifted them again.

"They're gone!" Tadashi yelled at last, abruptly lowering his hand to pull Hiro's hand and the frame down again; but when he did so he accidentally knocked the frame on Hiro's hands. It fell on the floor and broke; pieces of glass flew in several directions. The noise was high and loud enough to hurt their ears a bit, causing Tadashi to hiss a little.

Startled, Hiro tripped over his feet and fell to the floor, his heart beating fast as he let out a shriek. His little body hit the ground with a thud as he backed away and breathed fast. He mouthed "Ow!" and rubbed his leg.

Tadashi shook his head and his eyes widened when realization came to him and he looked around, noticing what he had done. He put his hand to his forehead and started to pant, biting his lip.

"I... I..." He said as he twisted around, looking at the floor. His eyes wandered around the room and fell on his little brother. Hiro was still sitting down on the floor; his legs were stretched out as his eyes got watery. "Hiro!" He exclaimed in despair. He gave a fast step toward his little brother, but when he did, Hiro backed away from Tadashi.

The boy didn't stop moving until he hit his back against the wall, yet he still tried to back away more from his brother. Tadashi felt like he had been kicked in the gut and his heart had been ripped of his chest as his jaw dropped and his hands started to shake.

He could see in his brother's eyes, Hiro was scared. He was afraid of Tadashi. The older one wished he could go back in time and keep himself from breaking the frame. The image of Hiro backing away from him wouldn't leave his mind as soon as he would like. Hiro, the younger brother he loved, the brother he had sworn to help and protect; was afraid of him.

Hiro hugged his knees and sobbed, looking down to avoid his brother's eyes. Tadashi tried to keep the tears he felt on the corner of his eyes, but one or two rolled down his face despite his effort.

"Hiro... I'm so, so sorry. I didn't mean to..." He gave a small step toward his brother, but he froze in place for the second time when Hiro interrupted him.

"I'm sorry, Dashi. I shouldn't ha... I shouldn't have annoyed y-you. Don't... I'm sorry..." He said between his tears as he shook his head. "Don't hurt me, please... I didn't mean to..." His tiny voice disappeared as he buried his face in his knees.

Not even being stabbed in the heart would make Tadashi feel the way he felt when he heard Hiro pleading him not to hurt him. More tears came down from Tadashi's eyes as he gave small steps toward Hiro; he skipped a heartbeat every time Hiro looked at him with fear in his eyes.

"Hiro, you have nothing to be sorry about, it was my fault! And I would never hurt you! It was an accident, please believe me!" He tried to keep his voice normal, but it came out louder than he wanted and as shaky as it can be. He wanted to approach Hiro, but when he stepped forward he saw something on the ground.

At first, he didn't know what that was. Tadashi frowned for a second, but soon his eyes widened as he gasped. A few red dots were splattered across the floor, forming a trail that was leading to Hiro. Tadashi gulped before eyeing his brother one more time. Only then he realized the cut Hiro had in his leg; and he assumed it had been caused by one of the pieces of glass. It wasn't deep, but there was blood coming down from it, hence the trail on the floor.

"Oh, my God." Tadashi said as he shook his head. "Hiro, I... I don't... Are you ok?" The older one said as he started to walk toward Hiro.

The younger one didn't answer; he just buried his face between his knees again as the tears started to come down.

"I'm so, so sorry..." Tadashi knelt down to be on Hiro's eye level, being careful enough not to hurt himself on any of the pieces of glass, and started to walk toward his brother with his knees. "Please, let me help you."

Hiro lifted his head and looked to Tadashi; causing the older one to bit his lip and stop moving. He reached out for Hiro, but they weren't close enough to touch. "Hiro, I'm really, really sorry. I... I never meant to do anything to scare or hurt you." He glanced at the dots on the floor before looking at Hiro's leg and saw that the blood kept sliding down and it was soaking Hiro's shoe. The fact that he had caused it made him want to throw up. "Please. It's your big brother, Tadashi. You have to believe me when I say I didn't mean it. I'm sorry." He reached out further. "Come here, please. Let me help you."

Hiro sniffed once more and stood up, wiping his tears with the sleeve of his hoodie. He looked ahead and into his brother's eyes. Tadashi's eyes were watery, but he wore a comforting smile and he was still reaching out, inviting Hiro to get closer. Tadashi's sudden outburst earlier was still echoing in Hiro's mind and it made his heart beat faster.

"It was never your fault, Hiro." Tadashi said when the younger didn't show any reaction. "I shouldn't have yelled at you." He looked behind him for a second and looked at what was left of the frame, including the picture. He sighed before looking back at Hiro. "And I shouldn't have been so insensible about... That topic you wanted to talk about. I promise I'll answer anything you ask about them and I will never yell at you again. Ever. But now we have to take care of that." He nodded toward Hiro's leg.

Tadashi mentally begged all the gods he could think of that Hiro was going to forgive him. The younger boy stood still for a moment, but slowly started to walk toward Tadashi. The older one smiled and sighed in relief when Hiro reached out as well. But when he was about to take Tadashi's hand, he held his hand in midair and looked into Tadashi's eyes. He let his hand fall by the side of his body; but before Tadashi could even wonder why he did that Hiro took a deep breath and jumped into Tadashi, wrapping his arms around his brother's neck.

Tadashi stood still for a moment, shocked, but closed his eyes and sighed; returning the hug as they both started to cry. Tadashi could feel Hiro's tears falling on his shoulders as he started to hum the lullaby he had sung Hiro the night before to calm him down.

"I'm... I'm sorry, D-Dashi..." Hiro muttered among his tears.

"Shh, Hiro, you don't have to be sorry. I'm the one who needs to apologize. I'm the one who's wrong. I'm really, really sorry. I'm supposed to protect you, but look at what I did instead. I hope you can forgive me someday, but now we have to take care of your leg. Do you trust me to do that?"

Hiro pulled away from the hug, but still had his arms wrapped around Tadashi's neck. He looked down at his leg and sniffed before looking back at his brother's eyes. He gave a soft smile and nodded. Tadashi smiled back and softly took Hiro into his arms, taking him to the kitchen. He put his brother on a stool and walked up to the closet, grabbing the first aid suitcase.

Hiro was still sniffing and didn't seem to be very well. "Don't look at your leg. You better not see blood if it makes you feel uncomfortable." Tadashi said as he approached Hiro, kneeling down and putting the suitcase on the floor, opening it. "Ok, this will burn just a little bit, but I promise you'll be ok." He held Hiro's foot with one hand while he held a piece of cotton on the other. As soon as he touched the cut with it, Hiro hissed and clutched the stool, instinctively trying to pull his foot away from Tadashi's hand.

"It's ok, it's ok. I know it hurts a little, but we have to clean this." He smiled to comfort his brother as he kept on cleaning the cut with the medicine. The blood was still coming from it, but not enough to drop on the floor anymore. After Tadashi made sure it was clean enough, he took out a bandage roll from the suitcase and wrapped it around the cut.

"There, this should make you feel better." Tadashi smiled again as he stood up and put the suitcase back on the closet. Hiro looked down at his leg and shrugged, but smiled when he saw there was no blood coming from it anymore.

"Thank you, Dashi."

"You're welcome. All I did was fix my own mistake." Tadashi said as he looked aside. The picture was still on the floor, in the middle of debris and glass. He sighed and walked to it, bending down and grabbing the picture before going back to Hiro. The little boy's eyes widened when Tadashi gave him the picture; probably still scared that Tadashi was angry at him. "You said you wanted to ask me something about our parents?"

Hiro looked down at the picture and nodded, a little scared.

"What is it?"

The younger didn't say anything; he just looked down at the picture and shrugged.

"I promise I won't be mad at you. Just ask it."

Hiro took a deep breath and bit his lip.

"Dashi..."

"Yes, Hiro?" Tadashi said, putting his hand on his brother's knee.

"D-Did mom and d-dad love me?"

Tadashi's eyes widened. Hiro finally lifted his eyes to look at Tadashi, and the older one saw that Hiro was in fact scared, as if he feared the answer he was about to get. At the same time, there was a little hope in his eyes. Tadashi shook his head as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"Hiro, of course they loved you! They loved you more than anything!" Tadashi said, a little more desperate than he would have liked, as he put his hands on either side of Hiro's face. "I remember when I saw you for the very first time, I held you when you were a baby; and mom and dad were so happy to have you in the family! They loved you as much as I love you!"

Hiro took a deep breath and looked down at the picture. "Really?"

Tadashi didn't realize he had tears in his eyes until he nodded and spoke up, feeling the words lock up in his throat. "Really. Why would you even question that?"

The younger shrugged. "I... I d-don't know. I don't remember anything ab-bout them. I don't remember if they loved me or not. I... I just wanted to know."

Tadashi sighed as he felt more tears form in his eyes. He then noticed Hiro was crying too. Not able to control himself, he softly wrapped his arms around Hiro's neck. He had never thought about it before, but Hiro was right. Their parents died when he was three; even if they told Hiro many times how much they loved him, it was very unlikely that Hiro could remember any of them. He had no memories, nothing.

"I'm really sorry, Hiro. I wish you could remember them. But believe me when I say they loved you. They loved you with all of their will."

They softly pulled away. Hiro wiped his tears away as he looked down at the picture one more time. He reached out to give it back to Tadashi, but the older one held Hiro's wrist and shook his head. "I want you to keep it."

"B-But it's yours."

"No. I have my memories, I don't need a picture. I want you to keep it so you'll always remember what mom and dad looked like. And more, I used to keep it inside my drawer, alone and abandoned. I'm sure you'll take better care of it than I used to."

Hiro sighed and smiled softly. "Thank you, D-Dashi." He said before yawning.

"No problem, Hiro. And remember, mom and dad always loved you. Now, are you ready to go back to bed?"

Hiro nodded and opened his arms. Tadashi took the infant in his arms and carried him upstairs. Hiro didn't kept looking at the picture all the way to their room, sometimes with a soft smile and sometimes with a curious face. Tadashi put him on the ground when they got to their room and took Hiro's hand, leading him to his bed.

"Do you want to sleep with me tonight?" Tadashi asked as Hiro sat down on his own bed and shook his head.

"No, I'm fine. But…" He said as he knocked his knuckles together. "Can you leave the partition open? Just in c-case I need you or anything?"

Tadashi ruffled Hiro's hair and nodded, walking up to his part of the room and opening the partition as further as it could go before approaching Hiro again. "There. Now if you need something, anything during the night you can just come to me, ok?"

Hiro nodded and smiled. He looked down at the picture one more time and sighed, frowning. Tadashi shook his head and sat down by his brother's side, looking down at the picture as well.

"They were really beautiful, weren't they? You look so much like our mother." He said, smiling.

"Dashi…" Hiro started to say, still looking down at the picture in his hands. "Why did they have to leave?"

"Wow." Tadashi bit his lip as Hiro lifted his head to look at his brother. "I… I don't know how to answer that, Hiro. I really don't know. Sometimes life isn't fair at all. Things just happen, and there isn't a why. But they're not really gone, as long as we remember them. And as long as we keep them in our hearts."

Hiro sighed again. "I wish I could remember."

Tadashi wrapped his arms around Hiro and brought him closer. "Me too, Hiro. I really wish you could remember them. But keep in mind, they loved you. And you still have me here with you."

Hiro returned the hug. "And we'll always be together, right?"

"Right." Tadashi said, kissing the top of Hiro's head. "Now you should go to sleep. Lay down, I'll tuck you in."

Hiro did as he was told, putting the picture under his pillow in the process. Tadashi covered him and made sure he was comfortable in his bed.

"Night, Dashi."

"Night, Hiro." Tadashi said, standing up and walking to his part of the room. Before he could lay down on his bed, he looked at Hiro one more time to make sure his brother was indeed sleeping and ok.

_It's just a big brother's thing. _He thought and smiled as he finally closed his eyes.

* * *

**I'm sorry.**

**I know this can be considered a little OOC. But it annoyed me how they never really talked about Hiro and Tadashi's parents on the movie except for two lines, so I decided to bring it up here. There was going to be more dialog at the end but not only this was already kind of long, I really don't think it was necessary. Maybe they can talk more about it later.**

**And Hiro will be brought back to his normal age soon... I'm a little sad because little Hiro is adorable to write.**

**Well, thank you for reading! I'll try to update sooner next time.**


	9. Because of you

**I'm sorry this chapter took a while. Tests, homework and my new puppy kept me busy for a while. Thanks heaven for a four day holiday! I couldn't wait to write more for this story; it's been so much fun. Well, here you go! Also, for everyone who's been trying to guess why Hiro's afraid of storms, I believe you'll have a surprise!**

**Well, hope you enjoy!**

* * *

When Tadashi opened his eyes, he was sure it hadn't been that long since he had closed them. For one thing, he didn't feel like he had had more than two or three hours of sleep. For another thing, there was absolutely no source of light, the whole room was in darkness. Even if the blinds were down, the sunlight would make its way to the room and make it all clear once the sun had risen.

Then why had he woken up?

It was hard to think with his eyelids going down against his will. He was trying to concentrate when he felt something touch his arm, but it took him a while to process that information. He looked down, and after a few seconds his vision had adjusted to the darkness just enough to allow him to see a blurred silhouette in front of him. After blinking a few more times, realization finally came to Tadashi.

"Hey, Hiro." He said with the volume just above that of a whisper. He knew his little brother needed him, but his body was fighting not to let him stand up for anything. He rubbed his eyes and tried to sit up on his elbows, only to feel his weight increase when he did so. He rolled to his side and leaned on his right arm, making his best to look down at his little brother. "What's wrong? Another nightmare?"

Hiro shook his head, rubbing his hands together nervously. Tadashi frowned and rubbed his eyes once more before letting out a heavy sigh, going against his body's will to sleep. Hiro needed him more than he needed to sleep, so he didn't even have to think to decide that his rest would have to wait a little longer. Tadashi finally looked down at Hiro again and reached out to softly rub Hiro's hair, noticing that his brother gasped a little at the sudden touch. He probably didn't see it coming with that darkness around him.

"Do you want to sleep with me? You aren't sick again, are you?" The thought made Tadashi's eyes shot open as he sat up on the bed in a jump, ready to take Hiro to the bathroom if that was the case. But Tadashi's body fell back down onto the mattress with a thud when Hiro shook his head at the possibility, causing the older one to sigh in relief. He wore a comforting smile, even if he was almost sure that Hiro couldn't see him and used his sweetest voice to make his little brother feel better. "So, what's wrong?"

Hiro didn't have time to answer. He opened his mouth, but before any words could be formed a lightning stroke outside. The thunder that came along with it was so loud that Tadashi's heart started to beat faster instantly, as it startled him. Hiro gasped as he covered his ears with his hands and fell to his knees, closing his eyes and biting his lips. The few seconds that the room had been lit by the white light allowed Tadashi to see that his brother was shaking from head to toe.

"Ok, I think I get it." Tadashi hastened to say. He left his bed and knelt down by Hiro's side on the floor. He put his hands on either of Hiro's hands and held them before carefully pulling them away from Hiro's ears so that he could hear Tadashi. "It's ok, Hiro. It's just a lightning. There's not even rain outside yet. Try to calm down and take deep breaths. It helps."

Hiro was looking down the whole time, staring at the floor. He opened his mouth and took the deepest breath he could as he nodded in the process. After what felt like forever, he finally lifted his head and looked to Tadashi, who could see nothing but a pair of big brown eyes that looked at him in fear. He released Hiro's hands to stroke his hair and wrap an arm around his brother's shoulders to comfort him.

"There, there. You don't have to be afraid. Come here, you can sleep with me." Tadashi said as he stood up and sat down on his bed, patting the empty space by his side. Hiro, however, didn't show any signs to be standing up anytime soon. He remained on the floor and wrapped his arms around his knees, looking at Tadashi's eyes. The older one cocked his head, confused. He tapped his nightstand until he found his table lamp and turned it on.

"I... I can't sleep..." Hiro muttered.

"Hiro, what's wrong?" Tadashi asked, going back to the floor and sitting by Hiro's side. He held his brother's hands with his own again, trying to make Hiro release his knees and relax. It wasn't easy, for Hiro was nervous and tense. Just when Tadashi had managed to make his brother calm down a little, another thunder rumbled outside. In the blink of an eye, Hiro let out a shriek and wrapped his arms around Tadashi's waist.

Tadashi gasped at the sudden touch and at the sudden noise, but quickly straightened himself up. The thunder was still echoing outside when he took Hiro in his arms and settled him in his lap, ruffling his hair. He could both feel and hear Hiro's heart beating inside his chest as the younger one stared into Tadashi's eyes as if he wanted to be sure his brother was indeed there.

"Hiro, it's alright. Everything's fine. Nothing bad will happen to you. I know that the rain and the noises outside are scary and all, but you will be alright. There's nothing to worry about."

Tadashi smiled at his brother, but it became a frown when Hiro looked up at him with disapproving eyes and scoffed. The older one cocked his head in confusion again. "What's wrong, Hiro?"

Hiro looked down, breaking eye contact with his brother, and pressed his face against Tadashi's chest. Before the older one could question anything, Hiro mumbled a few words into Tadashi's shirt.

"Sorry, what was that?" He asked when he couldn't understand what Hiro had said. The younger one moved his face away from his brother's chest and crossed his arms, pouting. After a while, he whimpered something through his clenched teeth.

"Didn't quite catch that." Tadashi said, smiling as he tried to comfort Hiro. The younger one looked up at Tadashi and shook his head, annoyed.

"It's not about me." He said in his tiny voice; pretty audible this time. Tadashi thought that Hiro's eyes seemed to be getting teary.

"Excuse me?"

"The rain. The thunders." Hiro said though his clenched teeth again; his voice seemed to be getting weak. "It's not with me that I'm worried. And I'm not afraid of them either."

"What do you mean?" Tadashi asked as he put his hand on Hiro's chin and lifted his brother's head so that Hiro would look into his eyes again. Tadashi let out a silent gasp when he noticed that tears were beginning to form in the corner of Hiro's eyes. Hiro's eyes moved down, avoiding Tadashi's gaze.

"Hiro." Tadashi said, lifting his brother's head again to bring his attention back to him. "What do you mean?"

"You mean you d-don't rememb-ber?" Hiro stuttered, looking at his brother with pleading eyes.

"Remember what?"

Hiro pulled Tadashi's hand away from his chin and looked down again, crossing his arms. He took a deep breath and straightened himself up in Tadashi's lap before looking up at his brother. Then he sighed and started to speak.

As the words came from Hiro's mouth, Tadashi's eyes grew wild.

* * *

_Hiro opened his eyes, annoyed. Like any other kid, he didn't like it when he woke up in the middle of his sleep. Rolling over, he reached for the watch on the nightstand and saw that it wasn't even 10pm yet._

_"Dashi, I'm thirsty." He called from his bed. Most people would be annoyed if they had to wake up just to bring water for a five year old boy, but Tadashi didn't mind. He loved his younger brother more than anything, and Hiro knew that. He adored his older brother, but if he was willing to do things for Hiro, he wouldn't hesitate to wake Tadashi up._

_Hiro waited for Tadashi to stand up and say he was going to be right back with the water he had requested, but it didn't happen. Nothing happened, only silence. Tadashi wasn't a heavy sleeper, but maybe that call wasn't enough._

_"Dashi? Dashi!" He repeated. Once again, nothing happened. "If you're pretending to be asleep, I'll get mad and tell Aunt Cass!" Hiro said as he pouted and folded his arms. After more waiting, he grabbed his stuffed robot and threw it against the closed partition that separated the room in two parts. It hit the partition and fell on the floor with a thud. That was sure to wake Tadashi up if he was sleeping._

_"Dashi, that's not funny. I ask you to do something and you ignore me! I'm telling Aunt Cass!" Just to show how serious he was, Hiro jumped out of his bed and walked up to Tadashi's part of the room. He pushed the partition open to call his brother, but then he realized he wasn't there._

_Hiro looked around the room and even under Tadashi's bed. He surely wasn't there. There was no way he could be hiding anywhere else in that small part of the room, and why would he even hide? He would never hide from Hiro. The little boy's heart felt a little heavy._

_"Dashi?" He said as he left Tadashi's part and went to his own, looking around. "I don't know if you're hiding or what, but you better not be. I will tell Aunt Cass if you try to trick me! Dashi?" Hiro turned around over and over, but his older brother was nowhere to be seen. He was starting to wonder where he could be when something caught his attention._

_There were voices down the corridor. The door of his room was cracked open, and so he could see there was light outside, even if Aunt Cass should be in bed already. They all slept early. Hiro cocked his head and slowly walked up to the door, opening it and leaving his room. He went downstairs, carefully jumping over the squeaky stairs and avoiding the squeaky floorboards like he always did._

_He stood there on the bottom of the staircase as he watched the scene in front of his eyes. Aunt Cass was in the kitchen sitting on a chair, and there were two men with her. They were using the same kind of clothes: blue shirts with a funny hat. Hiro had seen men like those on the TV the night before, but he had never seen them in real life. He noticed Cass seemed to be crying. Well, her body was shaking._

_Hiro wanted to approach them and ask what was happening, but maybe because he was curious or afraid, he decided to stay where he was. Nobody seemed to have noticed him anyway. He sat down on the floor, being careful to hide behind the balustrade, and watched._

_"Are you sure this is the most recent picture of him you have?" One of the men asked as he held a picture and showed it to Aunt Cass. Hiro tried to see what picture it was, but the man held it with its back on Hiro._

_"Yes." Aunt Cass said. Her voice was raspy and weird, maybe she was really crying. "He looks exactly like that. Well, maybe his hair is a little longer right now. But that's him."_

_"Can you describe us how he was dressed?"_

_"Sure, hum..." She said as she put her hands together and looked up to think. "I think he was wearing black shoes and a green pair of pants... I don't remember the shirt, but I told him to get his jacket because it was cold outside. It's a purple jacket. And he was wearing his lucky cap. He always wears it."_

_Hiro gulped. The only person in the world who owned a lucky cap was Tadashi. Why was Aunt Cass describing Tadashi to those men? And where was he? That didn't make any sense._

_"How is this cap?" The man asked again._

_"It's a dark blue and it has a symbol in it..." She said as she tapped her foot and tried to remember._

_Without thinking at all, Hiro stood up and gave a step forward, finally showing himself. "It's black."_

_The three adults turned their heads to look at the infant who stood near the staircase. He had a serious look in his face as he looked to the three of them. Before they could ask anything, he walked toward Aunt Cass and started to speak again. "His lucky cap is black. It only looks dark blue because of the lights. But it's black."_

_"Hiro." Aunt Cass said as she sighed and stood up to walk up to him. She wiped some tears away before picking him up. "What are you doing here? You should be sleeping." She said as she forced a smile. Hiro stared at her and glanced at the men in his kitchen. Her smile didn't make him smile like she wanted._

_"Aunt Cass, who are those men? Where's Dashi? Why are you describing him to them?" He asked in a row. She gasped and bit her lip as she looked to the cops and nodded toward the front door._

_"I think we have enough information now. We'll let you know if we find anything." One of them said as he nodded and they walked to the door. Hiro and Cass watched in silence until they were out of the house and the door was closed. Hiro could see that it was starting to rain outside when they opened the door._

_"Hiro..." She started to say._

_"Who were them? Where's Dashi? Why were you describing him to them?" He asked again._

_"Hiro... You see..." She sighed and sat down with Hiro on her lap. Hiro looked at her as she stared at the ceiling, as if she was looking for the right words or didn't know how to say something._

_"What's happening?" Hiro asked as he folded his arms and looked at her in wonder. She couldn't help but smile a little at her nephew's intelligence, but her smile soon faded when she realized she had to answer him._

_"Hiro, you see... Tadashi... He left the house a few hours ago with his bike to go play with his friends. I think you were sleeping when he left." She looked down, avoiding his eyes. He raised an eyebrow._

_"Ok?" Hiro said when she kept staring at the floor and didn't say anything else._

_"Hiro." She held his hand with hers and sighed as she lifted her eyes from the floor to look at him. "He still hasn't come back."_

_Hiro blinked in surprise. He could be way too smart for his young age, but he was also too innocent to realize what that sentence could mean. "When will he return, then? It's way past bedtime. Is he in trouble?"_

_Cass took a deep breath and tried to hold the tears. "I don't know, Hiro. I hope he isn't in trouble. I really hope he isn't."_

_"What do you mean, Aunt Cass?" He asked, tilting his head. Cass knew she should come up with some kind of lie, but Hiro was way too smart to let that go. But how could she tell him the truth?_

_"Hiro, you see... He should be back by now. He really should be back by now. But he isn't, so I called those men to help us look for him. And they're looking for him right now, ok?"_

_"Hum." Hiro said as he looked down and blinked again, trying to process that new information. "I see. So... When will he return?"_

_She shook her head, and now she couldn't help the tears that started to run down her face. "Hiro, I don't know... I really don't know. I don't know where he is and I don't know when he will return. In fact..." She gasped and wiped the tears away. "He may never come back, Hiro. Something bad may have happened with him."_

_Cass didn't realize what she was saying until it was too late. She looked at his scared eyes and forced a smile, but he remained in shock. "D-Dashi may n-never c-come b-b-back? What d-do you mean b-by that, aunt C-Cass?"_

_She widened her eyes at Hiro's stuttering. He hadn't stuttered like that ever since he was two. "Hiro, I'll put you back in bed. Let's go..." She stood up and put him on the ground, grabbing his hand to lead him upstairs. But he refused to follow her. Outside, the rain had already started to fall and the drops hit against the glass. Hiro's heart started to beat as loud as the thunders as he pulled his hand away from Cass'._

_"I don't want to sleep! I have t-to wait for D-Dashi! He always t-tucks me in. I have t-to wait for him!" He said as he sat down on the floor and folded his arms. Cass opened her mouth to say something, but closed it and sighed in defeat. She knew he wasn't going to sleep, and neither was she. They were too worried._

_"Ok, Hiro." She wiped another tear. "You can wait for him. But you should try to get some rest too. I'm sure Tadashi's fine." She forced a smile and reached out for him. It took him a while to grab her hand and stand up, but he quickly released his hand from hers and ran to the bottom of the staircase._

_"I'll wait for him in my room. But I won't sleep!" He stomped his foot and ran upstairs, ignoring Aunt Cass' attempts to call him. She just shook her head and tried not to think about Tadashi as she went to her own room._

_'Dashi will come back. He is alright. Dashi will come back.' Hiro thought to himself as he climbed up his bed and put his head on the pillow. He didn't understand what was happening, but he knew it couldn't be anything good. Whatever was happening, there was a chance Tadashi wasn't coming back._

_Hiro sat up on the bed and tried to catch his breath. He couldn't sleep. But he wasn't going to sleep anyway until Tadashi came back. But what if he never came back? Hiro couldn't stay without his brother. Hiro needed Tadashi. He wanted Tadashi to be back. And soon._

_"D-Dashi will b-be b-back, right? He's coming home. He's alright." Hiro said to himself as he clutched his stuffed robot. He was in complete darkness and silence, when suddenly another thunder and another lightning invaded the room. Hiro gasped and fell on the floor with fright, hitting his head._

_"D-Dashi... Help..." He muttered as he rubbed the back of his head and sat up on the floor, leaning against the wall. If Tadashi was there, he would be by his side already to help him. But Tadashi wasn't there. Hiro felt tightness in his chest as his breath shortened. He tried to take deep breaths like Tadashi always told him to do when he got nervous, but that didn't seem to be working that time._

_He put his hand to his chest and put some pressure where it was, trying to get that comforting feeling he had whenever Tadashi hugged him. But it wasn't working either. As if being alone wasn't scary enough, there was a small irrational part of Hiro telling him that his brother was gone forever. He didn't understand why, but Aunt Cass had told him so._

_He felt the tears wanting to run down his face, but he fought against them. He held them back for quite a while, but then another thunder. It was so loud... Hiro didn't like that. The storm got heavier by the minute outside when Hiro finally started to cry. As the tears fell down his face, he begged Tadashi to come back home soon, whenever he was._

* * *

Tadashi heard everything Hiro said, but it was almost like his brain couldn't process any new information. Hiro was on his lap, facing the floor. The older one shook his head and sighed as he wrapped his arms around Hiro and gave him a hug.

"I'm sorry, Hiro. I'm so sorry." He didn't quite know why he was apologizing, but it felt the right thing to do in that moment. "I... I never imagined I could be the reason why you're afraid of storms, but... I'm sorry."

Hiro wrapped his arms around Tadashi and sighed as well. Then he quickly pulled away from the hug and folded his arms, making Tadashi confused. "Really, what were you thinking? You... You can't leave like that and... That was so... You made me mad!"

Tadashi couldn't help but smile a little. His brother sounded exactly like Aunt Cass on that stormy night, nine years before. The night Tadashi disappeared. He could remember it very well; he was going home when a someone with a motorcycle hit his bike. He fell and passed out. When the cops found him, he was still unconscious; not to mention wet because of the rain. That caused him to skip school for a whole week because of a really bad cold.

He hadn't thought about that night for a really long time. Mostly because it didn't feel important to him. He was just unlucky enough to pass out in a desert street where no one could see him - back in his childhood when San Fransokyo wasn't that big. Not to mention that whoever hit him wasn't decent enough to stop and help like they should have done.

When they found him and took him to the hospital, it wasn't even midnight. He couldn't help but think Aunt Cass had overreacted. He wasn't dead or anything. In fact, all that happened was that he had broken his left arm when he fell. Cass almost strangled him when he told her not to worry about him, but he really thought it wasn't anything worth worrying about.

"I'm sorry that I made you worried. But there was nothing to worry about."

"Would you stop doing that?" Hiro said with a serious voice. Tadashi raised an eyebrow.

"Doing… What?"

Hiro sniffed again. "You… You always say n-not to worry ab-about you, as if… As if it didn't mat… Matter when you get hurt. Aunt C-Cass said you could… You could have d-died that night! You… You can't die, Dashi!"

"Hiro, I… I'm sorry. I didn't know you felt this way, and I…" Tadashi sighed as he kissed Hiro on the forehead. The little boy sniffed and leaned his head against Tadashi's chest, trying to hear his brother's heartbeat again. It always made him feel better. Then he pulled back and placed a kiss on Tadashi's cheek, which made the older one smile and raise an eyebrow in surprise.

"It's just..." Hiro started, wiping some tears away. "I lost mom and d-dad. I thought I had lost you too, and... I can't..."

"Oh, Hiro." Tadashi said as he hugged Hiro once more. "I'm really sorry. But you don't have to be afraid anymore. I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere." He said as he hugged his brother and tapped his back. Hiro smiled, but gasped again when he heard the rain against the window and the wind whistling outside. Hiro tugged on Tadashi's shirt and rubbed his head on his brother's chest.

"What about we go to sleep now?" Tadashi whispered, smiling and looking into Hiro's eyes.

"O-Ok... Can I sleep with you?"

"Of course you can." Tadashi smiled as he stood up and placed Hiro in bed, lying down by his side soon after. Hiro waited until Tadashi was by his side and wrapped his arms around Tadashi's neck, leaning his head on the crook of his brother's neck, so that he could feel Tadashi's breath on his face. The older one smiled and hugged Hiro back after pulling up the blanket to make them warm.

"Night, Hiro."

Another thunder rumbled outside, loud and strong. But for the first time, Hiro didn't show any signs of fear. He just took a deep breath and tightened the hug he was giving his brother, who looked at him in surprise and smiled.

"Night, Dashi."

* * *

**Yeah... I'm sorry.**

**This is actually based off something that happened with my friend when I was around nine. It was pretty much exactly how it happened here, except that he didn't get to break his arm. I considered Hiro being afraid of storms because of his parents (like having they dying on a stormy night or something) but then I thought that if Hiro doesn't remember them at all, it wouldn't make sense if they were the reason.**

**So of course it had to have something to do with Tadashi! Well, I hope this wasn't silly or anything. Honestly, this was hard to write because I don't know what's going on Hiro's mind! I mean, I was not really sure on whether he should question the fact that Tadashi was way younger when he disappeared than he is now (Since Hiro doesn't really understand he should be fourteen). I decided not to do it because I didn't want to break the moment. So I suppose Hiro just thinks Tadashi was already eighteen years old when he disappeared.**

**In case anyone is confused, Tadashi disappeared when Hiro was five for the first time and so Tadashi was around nine or ten. They never really said how old Tadashi is on the movie, but I like to think he's around five years older than Hiro.**

**Well, this took a while. Next chapter will take a little longer to be done because it will be long. I may have to split it up in two chapters if it gets too long.**

**I hope you enjoyed. Oh, thanks to everyone who reviewed! I would like to send each one of you a reply but I don't really like the replying system of this site. So I would like to thank you all here: Thank you very much for your comments :D**

**This note is quite long already, so see yah!**


	10. They're just brothers

**Hey, everybody! How are you today?**

**So let's get back to this. Has it really been a month since I updated this? Surely doesn't feel that long! Well, I got a little tired of writing for Big Hero 6 so I wrote some other stuff. I really need to update all my other fics, but why don't I feel inspired when I actually have free time? Ugh!**

**Sorry, I feel a little jumpy today XD Well, here you go: chapter 10!**

* * *

Tadashi was starting to get used with the routine of looking to his side whenever he woke up to make sure his brother was alright. It was the first thing he did when he woke up and the last thing he did before going to sleep; but he did it almost instinctively, without thinking at all. After lazily rubbing his eyes, he waited as his vision adjusted and he was finally able to see a toddler with messy hair sleeping by his side.

He smiled and kissed Hiro on the forehead, being careful not to wake him up. Sitting up on his elbows, Tadashi glanced at the little clock on the nightstand and saw that it was almost nine in the afternoon. Feeling his legs warm, he looked forward and sighed in relief when he saw the sunlight that came from the window hit he blanket that covered him and his brother. That meant the rain was officially gone.

Stretching, Tadashi left his bed and looked from side to side, trying to find his shoes. He spotted them under the table he used to keep his books, but when he bent down to grab them he heard a soft noise coming from behind him.

Looking over his shoulder, the older Hamada saw a semiconscious Hiro groping the empty space on which Tadashi was laying a few minutes before. He was amused when the young boy frowned on his sleep because he couldn't seem to find his brother. A lazy yawn later, Hiro cleaned his throat and blinked his eyes open.

"Dashi?" He called, not even bothering to sit up or look around.

"Here". The older one waved and sat down on the corner of the bed, bending over to reach his socks. As he put them on, he smiled at his brother and poked Hiro's leg. "Come on, wake up. I think we overslept."

Hiro responded by rolling his eyes and reaching out for his pillow, pressing said object against his head to cover the light and the noises around him as he groaned. Tadashi chuckled and shook his head, standing up and pulling the partition open to leave the room. Hiro didn't seem to notice his brother was gone as Tadashi looked around the room to look for his phone.

Just like looking to his side to check on Hiro, checking his phone for any messages or missed calls from GoGo was becoming part of his routine. To his surprise, all he saw when he pressed the main button was his phone's wallpaper. But just when he was going to put his phone on his pocket, it started to vibrate as a message popped up on the main screen.

Tadashi couldn't help but look up innocently when he saw it was from GoGo, quickly swiping right to reply her. However, he didn't know how to feel when he finished reading the message.

"Tadashi, are you up already? I think we finished working on the gun! The guys and I met earlier today after breakfast. We thought about calling you but decided to let you sleep since you seemed to be tired because of Hiro last night. Just a final test and we're done! When can we meet up today?"

Tadashi's left hand fluttered around the empty space behind him until he finally found the armrest and sat down on the chair, never breaking eye contact with his phone. He actually touched the screen to activate the keyboard, but quickly moved it away and used it to pinch the bridge of his nose, letting out a heavy sigh. His brain couldn't seem to comprehend the words he saw on the screen, for he just couldn't process an answer. Before he could figure out why, Tadashi felt something tugging his shirt. When he looked down to his right, he saw a smiling Hiro asking to be held.

"Hey there, buddy." Tadashi said as he locked his phone and left it on the desk to free his hands in order to hold his brother. "How are you today?"

Tadashi chuckled when Hiro reached out for Tadashi's cap, which was on the table near his phone, and put it on the top of his brother's head. The brim of the cap covered Tadashi's vision, so he knocked it up to be able to see.

"Better now, huh?"

Hiro tilted his head as if saying he liked it better his way, but nodded afterwards. Tadashi laughed and then noticed that not only Hiro was already wearing his shoes, but he also seemed to have brushed his hair. Well, that didn't mean it wasn't messy, but it sure looked better than the way it did every day when Hiro woke up. Tadashi could never wake up and not wonder where his brother had gotten that hair from.

"Dashi?"

Tadashi snapped out of it and shook his head. Hiro was looking at him with wondering eyes. It took a moment for him to realize Hiro had his arms wrapped around Tadashi's neck. The older one smiled and completed the hug, wrapping his arms around Hiro and pulling him closer. Once they were apart again, Hiro rubbed his eyes and yawned one more time.

"No rain?" Hiro said, looking over Tadashi's shoulder.

"Hum?" The older Hamada said. He looked to where Hiro was looking and saw the window. The sunlight found its way through the glass and illuminated the whole room. "Oh, yeah. The rain is gone and you don't have to be afraid anymore".

Tadashi smiled when memories of the previous night flashed on his mind. He turned to Hiro one more time before putting the toddler on the floor and walking up to the window, opening it.

The few remnants of the cold air of the night before were gone when a warm breeze invaded the room. Hiro attempted to walk toward Tadashi, but before he could give more than three steps, his brother was back to his side.

Tadashi took Hiro on his lap and was about to say something when a noise came from in between them. Hiro took one hand off his brother's neck and clutched his belly, giving a shy smile.

"You're hungry there, buddy?"

"A little." Hiro said, almost as if he was ashamed for that.

"Hey." Tadashi said, using his hand to lift Hiro's head to make him look at him in the eye. "It's ok, Hiro." He glanced at the sunlight coming from the window again. "In fact, why don't we go out and eat something?"

The baby smiled as Tadashi put him on the floor again. "But someone's got to brush their teeth first." Hiro snorted as the older one crossed his arms and nodded towards the bathroom. After rolling his eyes, Hiro obeyed his brother.

Tadashi chuckled as he reached for his keys and put them inside his pocket. He got his phone and couldn't help but think there was something he was forgetting to do, but Hiro was back before he could spend too much time thinking about what it was.

The older Hamada bent down and kissed the younger one on the forehead. Hiro chuckled and smiled at his brother's touch as Tadashi reached out, taking Hiro's hand in his. He threw his jacked over his shoulder, just in case, and then they both went downstairs and left the cafe.

* * *

Even though it was Sunday, the park was relatively empty. It wasn't even ten in the afternoon yet, but Tadashi expected it to be more crowded. Well, the last time he had been there it had been years before, when Hiro was around ten. Before he had started to bot fight.

Tadashi and Hiro were sitting on a bench as they both finished eating their Japanese meals. Even if he was five, Hiro was quite able to eat using the sticks. Tadashi wondered if he remembered that they both learnt how to use those with their parents, years before.

"How are those called?" Hiro asked, putting his little box of food aside and holding the sticks.

"Oh, they're called hashi." Tadashi said. "By the way, you should say 'How are _these _called. Not 'those'."

"Why?"

"Because…" Tadashi tapped his fingers on his knee as he thought. "You see, 'those' is when the things you're talking about are far from you. And you use 'these' when they're near you. Like…" He looked around before nodding toward some people. "If you're talking about them, you say 'those people'. It's a little complicated, but…"

"No, it's ok. I think I got what you mean." Hiro said as he smiled.

Tadashi smiled as well, but then blinked and looked at Hiro. "Hey… You're not stuttering anymore! Congratulations! I knew you could do it." Tadashi said, showing his fist to his younger brother.

Hiro seemed to be thoughtful for a while, but then he smiled and showed his fist as well, softly hitting Tadashi's with his as they both threw their fingers in the air. "I guess I'm not… Thank you."

Tadashi nodded and ruffled Hiro's hair. "It's great to see you improving, but it's ok if you stutter sometimes. Just remember to always try your best, and never let the fear of striking out, keep you from playing the game. Ok?"

"Ok." Hiro softly said as he took a deep breath. Hiro started to swing his legs back and forth nonchalantly, but when his legs were stretched, Tadashi's eyes fell upon the bandage his little brother had on his leg. Suddenly, his smile faded and he felt a pain on his chest.

"Does it hurt?"

"Hum?"

"Your heel. Does it hurt?"

"Oh, that? No, not really. I can… I can barely feel the pain anymore."

"Did it hurt yesterday?"

Hiro blinked and gulped, scratching his arm as if he was trying to dismiss the topic. Tadashi crossed his arms and looked at Hiro.

"Did it hurt yesterday?" Tadashi repeated.

"Yeah, it did, a little." Hiro shrugged.

Tadashi felt his chest heavy again; mainly when the images of Hiro's blood on the floor appeared on his mind again.

"I'm sorry, Hiro. I didn't mean to hurt you, I just…"

Tadashi trailed off when Hiro wrapped his arms around him.

"It's ok, Dashi. I know you didn't mean it. And even if you did, I forgive you. Because I love you."

Tadashi bit his lower lip as he smiled and wrapped his arms around Hiro as well. Hiro looked up at him and smiled as well, but stopped when he shivered a little, which made Tadashi look up to the sky. There was no sign of rain, but a cold draft had started to blow.

"What about we go home now?" Tadashi said as he took his jacket and put it around Hiro's shoulders. He younger one nodded as he gladly held the jacket to keep it in place. Tadashi smiled and took his brother's hand as they both stood up and started to walk home.

* * *

Mochi was sleeping on a table when Tadashi opened the door of the cafe and entered with Hiro. The cat let out an angry meow when the noise woke him up, leaving the kitchen and running upstairs in the blink of an eye.

Hiro took Tadashi's jacket off and returned it to his brother before running to the living room, getting out of his brother's sight. Tadashi was about to follow him when his phone rang. Nonchalantly, he reached for it on his pocket and expected to see that GoGo was calling him, but his jaw dropped when he saw it was Aunt Cass.

"Gosh! Does she have to call us so often?" Tadashi groaned as he scratched the back of his head and tapped his foot like he always did when he got nervous. He didn't have much time to think of an excuse to use if she asked to talk to Hiro. However, his heart started to beat faster in the blink of an eye when realization hit him.

_What if she's coming home earlier?_

Tadashi took quick and short breaths as his ringtone got louder and louder. Closing his eyes, he swiped right and the ringtone stopped as he put his phone to his ear. After opening his eyes and quietly taking a deep breath, he forced a smile.

"Hello, Tadashi Hamada here."

"Hey, Tadashi! It's Aunt Cass here."

"Aunt Cass, what a surprise." He let out a forced chuckle. "H-How's everything going? Are you coming home earlier?"

_Please say no._

"Oh, everything's fine here. It's been raining a lot, but other than that we're good. And no, I'm not coming home till tomorrow."

"Thanks heaven!"

Tadashi's eyes widened as he processed what he had just said. The silence at the other end let him know that Aunt Cass was probably just as confused.

"Thanks heaven… That everything's alright with you! And aw, you're coming home tomorrow? Dang, I was expecting to see you earlier! I miss you!" Tadashi said, clumsily forcing a smile and trying to sound happy as he said his words through his clenched teeth in a lazy excuse for a smile.

_Now I know why the teacher always asked me to be part of the production team rather than being an actor whenever we had a play._

"Okay, then…" Cass said as she processed what he had said. "I miss you two as well. Don't worry; I'll be home soon to hug my favorite boys! Hum, can I talk to Hiro now? It has been a while. I feel like whenever I call he can't answer me."

"Really? Why do you feel that?" Tadashi said among lazy forced laughs.

"Because ever since I traveled he hasn't spoken to me once." She said as if she expected him to know. "Hum, can I talk to him now?"

"Hum…" Tadashi faked a cough to gain time. "Sorry, what did you say? I didn't hear you."

"I asked if I could talk to Hiro."

"Sure, sure, there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn't be able to talk to him, right? It's not like anything that would keep him from talking to you happened, right? I mean, what in the world could have happened?"

Tadashi could literally see his friends face palming if they had seen his answer. He bit his lip when there was only silence at the other end before a small cough from Aunt Cass.

"Tadashi… Are you ok?"

"Yeah, yeah, sorry. I'm just a little stressed because, you know, finals and stuff."

"Tadashi, you know you shouldn't study that much. I don't want you to…"

"I know, I know. Don't worry, I'll be fine. By the way, I checked on Hiro and he's still asleep. He went to bed really late yesterday because he was up until the sunrise working on his new robot."

"I feel like I should be expecting that." Aunt Cass said. "Ok, I'll call you tomorrow after I leave. Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yes, Hiro and I couldn't be better." That wasn't exactly a lie, after all.

"I have to go now. Tell Hiro I said hi when he wakes up, ok?"

"Ok, I will. Bye, Aunt Cass!"

"Bye, Tadashi. See you!"

A click was heard, and then only silence. Tadashi almost let his phone fall when he sighed and sat down on one of the cafe's chairs.

"That was close, Hiro. Hiro?"

He looked around the room and then remembered the toddler had run away when they entered the house.

"Hiro?"

As if on cue, he heard a noise coming from the living room. Tadashi shook his head as he stood up, starting to walk.

* * *

Tadashi was ready to start running and help his brother if the noise revealed to be anything broken or serious. After all, Hiro had almost killed himself eating that peanut when Tadashi turned his back on his for mere seconds. The thought made him walk faster, but when he got to the living room, there didn't seem to be any trouble.

Hiro was in front of the TV, holding a DVD cover in his hands and looking at it like it was the most interesting thing on the world. Tadashi approached and put his hand on Hiro's shoulder, startling the young boy for a moment.

"Hey, Hiro. I heard a noise a few time ago, what was it?"

Hiro blinked a few times then pointed to Mochi, who slept with his belly up a few feet away from them. "Mochi ran into the wall when he was running away from us." He looked back at Mochi and shook his head. "Silly cat."

Tadashi chuckled and looked at Hiro's hand. "Hey, what do you have there?"

Hiro looked at his hands and then looked up at his brother, handing him the DVD cover. Tadashi nearly shivered when he saw how dusty it was. After blowing the dust away, he recognized it as the DVD he used to watch with Hiro when they were younger.

Well, when they were both younger.

Tadashi was about to open his mouth to speak when Hiro did it first.

"Can we watch it?"

That took the older one by surprise. He couldn't remember what had been the last time he had watched that movie with Hiro. Well, they did use to watch that at night, and Hiro had started to use his nights to go bot fight on the streets.

"You really want to?"

Hiro smiled and nodded happily. Tadashi's frown slowly became a smile as he was taken by a feeling of being warm inside. He shyly shook his head as he pressed the button on the DVD player to turn it on. Hiro went to the couch in little jumps and made himself comfortable. Tadashi smiled as he ran upstairs to get a blanket, being right back.

He threw the blanket at Hiro, who caught it and lay down on the couch. Tadashi smiled and sat down on the chair by the side of the couch. He was amazed when he noticed that Hiro had set the movie himself. He was ready to watch the movie, but was confused when the screen froze because Hiro had paused the video.

"What's wrong, buddy?" Tadashi asked as he turned to look at his brother.

Hiro nodded toward the empty space beside him, tapping it. Tadashi tilted his head in surprise, but shrugged and stood up to walk toward the couch and sat down by Hiro's side. As soon as he was settled, Hiro lay down again and rested his head on his brother's lap, using Tadashi's legs as a pillow.

Satisfied, Hiro pressed play again as a happy Tadashi started to caress his brother's hair.

* * *

**Ok, so, I think this is my least favourite chapter so far. It's a transition chapter and they're a little boring to write and to read. It's kind of short and I did consider making it longer, but there would be no good moment to split chapters anytime soon after this.**

**But I already started writing chapter 11, so it won't take as long to be published. Well, I hope you liked this!**

**See you soon :)**


	11. Stronger than you seem

**Hi everyone, how are you doing today? Before we get to the actual chapter, I wanted to reply some people who left some questions on the reviews:**

**_PastellePony_****: Yes, I received all your reviews, it is ok XD I don't really feel pressured to write fast when people ask for an update, don't worry. I just really want to get this done and since people ask me to update, I don't want to keep them waiting too much. I make sure to take my time not to rush, after all I don't want to disappoint the people reading this ^^**

**_JayHawk134_****: Yes, Hiro does know and remember Aunt Cass by the age of five. The reason why he doesn't mention her at all is because I didn't think it was necessary, nor do I think there was a proper moment to bring it up. And more, Hiro is a genius. I'm sure he knows she's traveling since Tadashi mentioned it a few times when he was around :)**

**To everyone else, thank you a lot for all of your favorites, follows and reviews! I may not reply them all because I don't really like the messaging system on this website, but I make sure to read them all and it makes me happy that you guys are enjoying this! I hope you enjoy this chapter, have a nice reading! :D**

**Also, you might need Kleenex for this.**

* * *

Before the whole "Hiro turned into a kid" thing happened, Tadashi never did realize how easy it was for him to fall asleep. Maybe it was the general routine of taking care of his little brother that was making him tired, maybe it was the fact his sleep schedule wasn't exactly regulated because of the fact that Hiro woke him up in the middle of the night and kept him awake until late hours; but during that week he took notice that he would fall asleep whenever he had silence and peace. It didn't matter if he was just sitting on a chair or in an uncomfortable position, he would fall asleep in the blink of an eye.

And watching a movie was no exception to the rule.

Tadashi had his back slumped against the couch, his eyes shut and his head hanging off to the side. Breathing softly, he stirred a little in his sleep and then put his hand to his head, rubbing his eyes. At first, all he could see was blurred shapes in shades of yellow and brown as his head felt dizzy and heavy. He tried to shake it off as he blinked and looked around, trying to focus his sight.

When Tadashi was able to think straight again after waking up, his head shot up when he remembered to look for Hiro. He knew the boy had his head on his lap before he fell asleep, but when Tadashi looked down his little brother wasn't there. As always, the thought of not knowing where Hiro was scared him as he jumped out of the couch in despair. However, when he was about to call for his brother he saw the very boy he was about to look for.

Hiro was sleeping on the floor, not far from Tadashi's feet. The upper part of his body rested on the carpet, while his legs were spread out on the wooden floor. His hands were tucked under his head and his jacket was being used as a blanket, covering his waist and part of his legs. A sunbeam that came from the window behind him shone on his chin and neck.

Tadashi raised an eyebrow, cocking his head in confusion. He was pretty sure that Hiro was on his lap before he had fallen asleep, which meant the little boy had left the couch and gone to the floor willingly. Still confused, Tadashi approached his little brother and softly poked Hiro's leg with his foot.

"Hey, Hiro." Tadashi called. Without even opening his eyes, the kid let out a slight groan in his sleep and reached out for Tadashi's foot, pushing it away from him and going back to using his hand as a pillow. The older one rolled his eyes and smiled, kneeling down to put his hand on Hiro's shoulder, proceeding to shake his brother softly. "Hiro, wake up. Wouldn't you prefer to sleep on the couch?"

Once more, Hiro didn't even open his eyes as he shook his head and took a deep breath, yawning in the process. Defeated, Tadashi turned to grab one of the pillows that lay on the couch. Then he slowly slid his hand under his brother's head, lifting it from the ground and putting the pillow under it. Hiro relaxed and tugged on it, sleeping deeply.

"If you wake up with a sore back from sleeping here, don't blame me." Tadashi chuckled as he stroked Hiro's hair, though he was sure his brother was sleeping way too heavily to even hear him. He stood up and walked up to the kitchen, filling Mochi's bowl with cat food before looking at the clock on the wall. It was half past four, meaning they had slept quite a lot.

Tadashi stretched, still feeling a little lazy from his nap when his phone rang. He turned around a few times looking for the source of the sound, until he looked down and realized it was in his pocket. He sat down on a chair before pulling it up from his pocket, answering the call without checking who it was.

"Hello, Tadashi Hamada here."

"FINALLY!" GoGo said in an eruption of fury on the other end. Tadashi dropped his phone in surprise, losing his balance and falling off the chair; hitting his head on the corner of the table before he fell on the floor. The thud he caused was loud enough to make Hiro open his eyes for a split second before going back to sleep.

"Ow!" He cried as he and rubbed his head.

Tadashi could hear GoGo's voice coming from the phone, calling his name. He sat up on the floor before looking for his phone, which he found under the chair he was previously sitting on. He picked it up with a sigh before taking it to his ear again.

"Tadashi? Hello?" GoGo called, her voice sounding both worried and angry. He could hear voices on the background that sounded worried as well, and he assumed they belonged to his other friends.

"Hey, I'm here." Tadashi answered as he climbed back to the chair. As he did so, he heard several relieved sighs on the other end of the phone, followed by an annoyed one that certainly belonged to GoGo. "I'm sorry for making you guys worried."

"Well, I'm sorry for startling you too, but come on. I've called and messaged you since morning today, and you didn't answer any of them! We were worried that anything could have happened to you or Hiro." GoGo sighed. "But are you guys ok?"

"I'm sorry. We fell asleep for a change." Tadashi smiled. "And yeah, Hiro is totally fine. I think I lost my hearing in my right ear and may have a concussion in my head, but other than that I'm fine as well." He said with a laugh.

GoGo giggled. "Like we cared for you, knucklehead." She said sarcastically. "How is your brother?"

"Oh, he's fine." Tadashi looked back and saw Hiro still slept on the floor. "He's sleeping at the moment. Believe me; nothing can wake that kid up."

"We've noticed." GoGo laughed. "So, have you seen the message I sent you this morning?"

"Message?" Tadashi thought for a while, his eyes widening when the memory appeared on his mind. He gulped and stayed in silence for a while, but before GoGo could call him he spoke up. "Yeah, I did. You guys... You guys are great. I... I really appreciate your help." He sounded distant, as if he didn't really mean his words; and spoke softly.

"Tadashi..." GoGo started to say, but after some noises it was Honey Lemon that was on the other end. "Hey, Tadashi?" She said with the sweetest voice she could make. "We just wanted to say we're ready to bring Hiro back to normal. Would it be ok if we met at your house today?"

"Yeah, it would. You guys can come over anytime you want. But Aunt Cass is coming back tomorrow, so the sooner, the better." His chest ached a little when he said that, so he took a deep breath. Perhaps he was getting sick?

Tadashi heard some intelligible whispers on the other end that seemed to come from Honey and Wasabi, but they quickly stopped when GoGo took the phone once more. "We'll be there in half an hour, ok?" She said with her voice unusually sweet for GoGo.

"Half an hour? Why don't you come here now?"

"Bye, Tadashi." GoGo said, never answering his question, and hung up the phone. Tadashi raised an eyebrow and looked at his phone with a confused expression, but just shrugged and left his phone on the table before standing up and walking to Hiro.

"Hey, Hiro. Come on, you'll get a sore back from sleeping here."

The infant took a deep breath and lazily rubbed his eyes, yawning. He finally opened his eyes and looked up at Tadashi, which knelt down by Hiro's side when the younger of them opened his eyes. Rather than waking up at once, Hiro put his head on Tadashi's lap and just closed his eyes again.

"You know, you were supposed to wake up." Tadashi giggled. Hiro responded by sticking his tongue out and making a mouth motion with his hand, not even bothering to open his eyes as he did so. Tadashi laughed and adjusted his position to get more comfortable, starting to stroke Hiro's hair.

"Why are you on the floor, by the way? You were on the couch with me when I fell asleep." Tadashi asked.

Hiro smiled and took a soft breath. "Because you snore when you sleep sitting."

"What?" Tadashi let out a gasp as he laughed and playfully rubbed his brother's head. "No, I don't!"

"Do too."

"Do not."

Hiro shook his head and sighed. "Hey, Dashi?"

"Yes, Hiro?"

"Can you..." He yawned, opening his eyes and looking up at Tadashi with a smile before closing his eyes again. "Can you sing me that lullaby again?"

Tadashi raised an eyebrow before widening his eyes when realization came to him and he had flashbacks of that stormy night. "Hiro, I don't sing that well and that's hardly a lullaby..."

"Please?"

Tadashi looked up innocently with a smile before he started singing, Hiro softly shaking his foot on the rhythm of the song. As soon as Tadashi got to the chorus, his little brother started to sing along, relaxing as Tadashi ran his fingers through his hair.

* * *

Tadashi would have fallen asleep again without a doubt had his friends not knocked on the door while calling out his name. He looked down and saw that Hiro was still asleep on his lap, so he moved aside as slowly as he could, making sure to put a pillow under Hiro's head. The kid was so sleepy that he didn't even seem to notice the change.

The older Hamada quickly walked to the door, pulling it open. All of his friends were outside and greeted him with smiles.

"Hey, guys." Tadashi glanced at the clock on the wall before stepping aside and motioning for his friends to enter. "I didn't even realize half an hour had passed already!"

"Oh, please don't tell me you fell asleep again after I called you." GoGo said as she was the first one to enter the house. Only then Tadashi noticed she was carrying the gun.

"No, I didn't." He smiled and held the door as Wasabi, Fred and Honey Lemon entered the house as well. "Although I think I would have if you guys hadn't arrived right now."

"Well, good thing we came then." GoGo smiled. She carefully put the gun on the table, always avoiding the trigger as she held it by the grip with all of her strength. "Seriously, how tiring is it to take care of a young Hiro?" She turned around and saw the boy she was talking about on the floor. "He looks so peaceful."

Tadashi's jaw dropped as he folded his arms. "Peaceful? He got lost at out university, found a way to have an allergic reaction when I turned my back on him for no longer than 20 seconds, he wakes up every couple of hours in the middle of the night, got a panic attack when it rained…" He held up a finger with every example, looking at GoGo in the eye.

"Ok, ok, we get it." Honey Lemon chuckled. "Not as peaceful as he looks, uh?"

"No, not at all." Tadashi nodded.

"Huh, why is he sleeping on the floor? That's not healthy for his back." Wasabi asked.

"Because I snore." Tadashi folded his arms as all of his friends raised an eyebrow and looked at him. He waved his hand to dismiss the topic. "Long story."

"Ah, but at least he's still the cutest…" Honey Lemon said as she turned around to look at the living room behind her, but when she did so all she saw was a pillow and a jacket that lay forgotten on the spot Hiro was supposed to be. "Uh, not to make anyone worried, but…"

Fred looked to the direction Honey was looking as well. "Hey, where's Hiro?"

That was enough to make Tadashi, GoGo and Wasabi turn around as well, the three pair of eyes widened as soon as they fell upon the empty living room.

"But he was there a minute ago!" Wasabi exclaimed.

"Now you see what I've been going through ever since he became a kid! It's almost like he could teleport!" Tadashi said, sighing in annoyance and feeling worry growing inside of him as he looked to all the directions possible, looking for his brother.

All of his friends started to do the same, but just when they were about to leave the kitchen and were getting apprehensive, a noise made them stop.

"What's that?" Honey Lemon questioned as the noise got louder and louder.

They heard several beats, as if something light was being thrown to the floor over and over again. Suddenly, the beats sped up and they were not as loud as before, until they eventually stopped.

"Wow, what was that?" Fred scratched his head.

"I'm guessing it's either Hiro or Mochi." Tadashi said. The five friends looked down when they heard a meow, their eyes meeting those of the fat cat who was lying on the floor and tried to take a nap. Tadashi looked back at his friends.

"Hiro?" GoGo asked.

"Hiro." Tadashi nodded.

Everyone was about to leave the kitchen and go look for Hiro, but they stopped again when a basketball entered the room bouncing, and didn't stop until Tadashi's legs got in its way. Before they had the time to question it, Hiro entered the room running, following the ball's path and picking it up. It wasn't until he was holding it that he looked up and saw he and Tadashi weren't alone.

"Oh, hi Uncle Fred, Uncle Wasabi, Aunt GoGo and Aunt Honey Lemon." He said with a smile and then looked up at his brother. "Hi, Dashi."

"He does know we're not really his uncles and aunts, right?" Fred whispered to Wasabi, who rolled his eyes in return.

"There you are, Hiro." Tadashi said as he smiled and sighed in relief, picking Hiro up. The infant never let the ball go as he wrapped his right arm around Tadashi's neck. "Seriously, you need to warn me when you wake up, I was worried! We didn't even hear when you got up and… Wait, where did you find that ball?"

Hiro held it in front of Tadashi's eyes and smiled. "Oh, I-I found it in our room. Can we play? Please?"

Tadashi's mouth was about to open as he was going to say yes, but then his eyes fell upon the gun that was on the table.

He felt tightness in his chest again and he gagged a little. Tadashi couldn't exactly explain why, but he didn't feel alright. Instinctively, he tightened the grip he was giving on Hiro and the boy let out a soft shriek.

"Sorry, Hiro." Tadashi said as he looked to his friends and then back at Hiro, taking the ball off his hands. Hiro reached out and tried to grab it back, but Tadashi dropped it before he could. Hiro watched as the ball fell before turning his attention back to his older brother and frowning. "Sorry, buddy. But we have to…" Tadashi stopped his sentence to sigh and caress his brother's hair. "Bring you back to normal."

Hiro raised an eyebrow and tilted his head in confusion as Tadashi seemed to lose himself as he looked into Hiro's eyes with a sad expression. GoGo took notice and then looked at her friends; they all nodding as if they were sharing the same thought.

GoGo looked down at the ball and took it in her hands, bouncing it. "So, Tadashi…" She asked with an innocent voice. "Your aunt Cass is not coming home until tomorrow, right?"

"Uh, that's what she told me." He answered, snapping out of his thoughts and turning around to look at his friends. "Why?"

"Well, it's not even that late yet. Why don't we give little Hiro a little of fun before we bring him back to normal?" GoGo asked as she twisted the ball on the tip of one of her fingers and smiled.

Hiro smiled with hope and then looked at his older brother with pleading eyes, and so did his friends. Tadashi looked at the clock and then at Hiro's big brown eyes.

"I… I suppose a game wouldn't hurt anyone." He smiled and shrugged. Everyone else in the room, including Hiro, cheered and smiled as they all leaded to the back door.

* * *

The back door of the cafe leaded to an old yard that had seen better days. According to Aunt Cass, the old owner of the house used it as a deposit, and she never really gave it a thorough cleaning after she bought the house. However, when Tadashi and Hiro moved in with her, she had it fixed up so that the two children wouldn't get hurt when they went to play there.

The walls surrounding the garden were old, the faded paint failed to cover the various cracks caused by the passing of time; although some of them had been caused by the misadventures of the two Hamada brothers when they were both younger. Tadashi and Hiro used to spend their free time there, and the prior had managed to install a basketball net above the door by himself.

For almost two hours, the six friends ran around the yard, throwing the ball at each other and making their best to catch it and make it to the net. They hadn't set specific teams, although it was made clear as the game went on that Fred was trying to help Wasabi to score, who was worried about the amount of germs that ball could have; the girls were also paired up and Tadashi was definitely on Hiro's side.

The yard was dimly lit as the sun went down, the lights coming from inside the house and from the posts outside being all the light they had. Hiro was the one who had the ball in his hands, and his little size made it easy for him to run through under the legs of his friends, dodging them. They all watched him with smiles on their faces and cheered as he ran toward the net. However, he stopped running when he was right under it.

Hiro looked up, feeling unsure. Tadashi and his friends looked at each other in confusion, shrugging as in to tell they were just as clueless as Tadashi. He cocked his head and approached Hiro, kneeling down by his side.

"What's wrong, buddy?" He asked as he laid a hand on Hiro's shoulder and shook him softly.

"It's too high." Hiro said softly, his eyes never leaving the net above. "I don't think I can make it, Dashi." Right after he said that, he looked down and kneeled down, carefully putting the ball on the ground and giving a step back.

"Hey, buddy." Fred said from behind, approaching Hiro. When he started to walk, all of them did the same. "You may not make it on the first try, but you're certainly never going to make it if you never even try." He softly punched Hiro's shoulder.

"Yeah, Hiro." Honey Lemon said as she trying to organize her hair that had gone messy with all of her running. "Just try it."

Hiro looked up at his friends and then at Tadashi and smiled, but it quickly faded when he looked back up. Somehow, it scared him. He didn't want to fail, but he wanted to try. Tadashi looked up as well and it bit his lip as he nodded when an idea hit him.

"Hey, Hiro." He called. When Hiro looked at him, Tadashi leaned closer and put his mouth to Hiro's ear, whispering something. The kid seemed a little thoughtful, and once Tadashi pulled away he nodded with a smile.

"What are you guys talking about?" GoGo asked as she folded her arms.

"Well, I just thought that this situation could use a little of…" Tadashi kneeled down again and Hiro climbed up his back, wrapping his legs around Tadashi's waist and holding his shoulders. Tadashi stood up and used one of his hands to hold Hiro's legs and the other one to pick up the ball. "Teamwork." He smiled.

All of his friends exchanged looks and smiles when they realized what Tadashi was planning. They nodded and stepped aside, making room for Tadashi and Hiro. The prior gave a few steps back to increase the distance there was between them and the net, handing the ball to Hiro when he thought he had space enough. He tightened the grip he was giving on Hiro's legs since Hiro was using both of his hands to hold the ball and couldn't hold Tadashi's shoulders anymore.

"Ready?" Tadashi asked, looking aside so that his eyes met Hiro's.

"Ready." Hiro said, nodding and sticking his tongue out in concentration as he looked up ahead to face the net.

Tadashi made sure to be holding Hiro as tight as he could before he started running toward the net, yet not too fast. Hiro took a deep breath as his brother approached the net. He positioned his arms when Tadashi stopped running and flexed his knees right before jumping up.

Hiro threw the ball at the net right before Tadashi's feet touched the ground again. Everyone looked up – Hiro held his breath as well – as they watched the ball bounce around the net in a delicate balance, as if it was trying to decide on whether to fall in or out the net.

After minutes that felt like hours, Hiro slowly started to breathe again and the corners of his mouth went up in a smile when the ball finally gave in and fell in the net, exactly like it was meant to be.

GoGo, Honey Lemon, Wasabi and Fred all cheered, throwing their fists in the air as they smiled and cheered for Hiro. Tadashi held Hiro's legs and jumped around with him on his back as Hiro hugged Tadashi's neck and smiled when he saw his friends cheering for him.

Among all of the cheering, Hiro leaned forward and put his mouth near Tadashi's ear, surprising his brother with a kiss on the cheek. Tadashi turned his attention to Hiro and smiled in surprise when the younger one rested his head on Tadashi's shoulder.

"Thank you, Nii-san."

Tadashi softly rubbed his head on Hiro's with a sigh and a smile. "No problem, Hiro."

* * *

When they were all back inside the house, Tadashi closed the back door and turned on the lights. Hiro was still blushing and looking down because of all the compliments he had been receiving when he sat down on a chair and swung his legs back and forth.

Tadashi smiled at his friends and brother, adjusting his cap and sighing. However, his heart sank when his eyes fell upon the gun that was on the table. For a few seconds, flashbacks of that week flashed on his mind; from Hiro getting lost in his college, reading the classing version of A Christmas Carol, being helped by Baymax and even when Tadashi accidentally hurt him.

However, it weren't just the big events that went through Tadashi's mind. Little things like waking up in the middle of the night, going to college together, carrying Hiro on his back… Even the bad things, like the way Hiro kept disappearing and giving Tadashi heart attacks, seemed to come back with such intensity in his mind that it was almost like they were happening in the present rather than being just memories.

"Tadashi?" GoGo called. He snapped out of it and came back to the present time, walking up to his friends. He shook his head and smiled as he approached them, Hiro looked up at him with an innocent look.

However, as soon as Tadashi approached them, their smiles faded. He had his eyes on his brother, so he didn't notice their worried faces until Fred cleaned his throat and changed the focus of Tadashi's attention. He seemed confused as to why his friends seemed to be nervous, but when GoGo nodded toward the table, Tadashi mouthed "Oh" and his smile faded as well.

Hiro noticed the worried look on his brother's face, but before he had time to question anything Tadashi handed his lucky cap to Hiro. "Hey, Hiro, could you please go upstairs and put this somewhere safe for me?" He asked as he forced a smile.

Hiro stared at it for a few seconds and seemed unsure, for he was too smart not to notice his brother didn't seem as happy as he was a few seconds before. He slowly reached out for the cap and held it, looking at it in his hands before looking up at his friends with a worried face. "Did I do anything wrong?"

The adults looked at each other, confused. "No, Hiro. Absolutely not. Why are you asking that?" Tadashi said, kneeling down and looking at Hiro in the eye.

"Because you seem mad. And it looks like you're trying to distract me or anything like that."

"No, Hiro, we're not mad at you. We have no reason to." Honey Lemon said with a smile that was accompanied by a sad sigh.

"We are not mad." Tadashi assured him. "But can you go upstairs now, please? And be careful, you know this is my lucky cap." He said with a smile. Hiro raised an eyebrow at him but gave a smile soon after before leaving the chair he was on and going toward the hallway. As soon as he was out of sight, Tadashi's smile vanished as he placed his hands on the table.

There was an unsettling quiet before GoGo rolled her eyes and approached Tadashi, folding her arms. "Tadashi, it's time. We have to do this."

"I know." He said with the volume just above that of a whisper. He was looking at the gun's general direction; however his eyes refused to directly meet said object. "I just… Wow. I think I was expecting that would never happen; you know?"

GoGo looked at her other friends and her sad eyes widened in an obvious plea for help. Nobody seemed to know what to do, but Honey Lemon approached Tadashi when the boy sniffed and sighed. "Come on, Tadashi. It's not like we didn't know this was all temporary, right? What about all the effort we had to fix that gun?"

"I know… Look, guys, I know." He straightened himself up and forced a smile with a shrug. "Come on, I know. So we're bringing Hiro back to normal, big deal. That's all I've wanted to do since the beginning of the week." His voice started to crack as his eyes watered, yet his forced smile remained on his face. "It's alright."

Once more, there was silence on the room.

"I'll miss him too." GoGo said.

Everyone looked at her with wide eyes in surprise. GoGo never showed any kind of emotion, however, she was visibly emotional. She was looking at her feet and had her arms folded over her chest; but she slowly raised to look at her friends.

"Let's cut the drama here, ok? We're all going to miss young Hiro. I mean, come on, he's… He's adorable, ok? And I'm sad we have to bring him back to normal. Also, ever since this thing started, we've been more united than ever before. Sure, it was one crazy week and honestly it's still hard to believe that kid was supposed to be a teenager; but that's what happened. And now…" She stopped and sighed, letting her arms fall to the side. "Now everything will be back to normal."

Honey Lemon sighed as well, stepping aside to wrap her arm around GoGo's shoulder. "We really are going to miss young Hiro. But come on, guys. It's not like we were never going to see him again or something like that."

Wasabi smiled. "Maybe you can take him to our school even after he's back to normal, Tadashi. You know, it would be fun if he wanted to study with us."

"Yeah, it would." Fred said. "I promise I won't show him any other of my inventions. But yeah, that kid is pretty fun."

"But it doesn't matter what happens, Tadashi, he'll always be your little brother."

Tadashi wiped the tears he had on the corners of his eyes and smiled, still feeling like his heartbeat was aching. "Thank you, guys."

They exchanged smiles, but turned their heads to the hallway when they heard the sound of steps. A few seconds later, Hiro was back at the living room and approached his friends. He had a smile in his face, but once again it faded away when he noticed how the people around him seemed to be sad.

"What's wrong?"

"Hiro, can you come here?" Tadashi said with a sigh as he knelt down and invited Hiro to approach him. The little boy shrugged and did as he was told. When he was in front of Tadashi, his older brother held his hands and looked at him in the eye.

"Hiro, I just need to tell you something."

"Uh, ok." Hiro said, confused, as his eyes moved from his hands to Tadashi's eyes, meeting his gaze.

"Hiro, you see… When this week started, you could barely say a sentence without stuttering. In fact, you could barely stand by yourself without feeling nervous, or afraid."

Hiro looked down, embarrassed. "S-Sorry…"

"But now," Tadashi continued, "you might just be the smartest kid I know. And I know it must have been hard for you to improve that much, but believe me, I'm proud of you. Even if you think your achievements are small or not worth it, I'm proud of you. For everything you've done."

Hiro smiled, his head shooting up in surprise.

"And I know we've been through some bad stuff. But I hope you know, no, I need you to know that I never, ever meant to do bad things to you; or to say those bad things I may have said. If there's anything I did that scared you or made you sad, I ask for your forgiveness."

Hiro's smile became a straight line as he looked down at his hurt leg, although his wound was almost gone. Tadashi looked down as well, and prepared himself to apologize when Hiro looked back at him and smiled. "There's nothing to be mad about." He shrugged.

Tadashi's eyes widened in surprise. "Well, either way, I'm sorry for your leg; and any other pain I may have caused you. I never meant to do anything of that sort, because I love you. Ok?"

Hiro unexpectedly wrapped his arms around Tadashi, whose hands fluttered around his brother as he wrapped his brain around what was happening. A few seconds later, he returned the hug and closed his eyes.

"I love you too, Dashi."

That was when all the tears Tadashi had been holding in started to go down against his will and he sighed.

"Come on, Tadashi. Woman up." GoGo demanded, however she was almost crying herself; and so was everyone else. "Can… Can we just do this, please?"

Tadashi pulled away from Hiro and looked at his friends before looking back at his brother, who had a smile on his face. "Sure, GoGo. I just need to say one more thing. Hiro, I want you to know that it doesn't matter what you do, or where you are; I'll be there for you. And remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. Also, you're much more loved than you imagine. Much, much more." Tadashi placed a kiss on Hiro's forehead. "Can you keep that in mind?"

"Sure." Hiro nodded. "I will. And you too, Dashi."

Tadashi nodded and stood up, Hiro's hands slowly sliding from Tadashi's as he did so. He looked at his friends and then at the gun, walking up to the table and grabbing it. He shivered when his hands touched the cold object.

The idea of pointing a gun to Hiro and shooting, even if it wasn't anything dangerous, made Tadashi sick. He hissed and turned around, handing the gun to GoGo.

"You have a strong stomach. Can you do it?" He asked with pleading eyes.

"Sure." GoGo nodded.

"Dashi?" Hiro asked, looking at his brother as he gave a step back.

"Hiro… You need to close your eyes now."

"W-Why?" He said, apprehensively looking around.

"Do… Do you remember that one time when you went to the doctor and he said it was going to hurt a little, so I told you to close your eyes? It's similar to that time." Tadashi sighed. "Come on, Hiro; just do as I say."

"Fine…" Hiro looked around. "Can you hold my hand, like you did back then?"

Tadashi's mouth dropped open as he looked to his friends, as in asking it that was ok. However, they all shook their heads. "We programmed this to turn Hiro older. I don't know if it could affect you somehow. Better safe than sorry." GoGo said.

"Sorry, Hiro. I can't. But you'll be fine, and you don't need to be afraid. You trust me, don't you?" Tadashi asked.

"Yes, I do." Hiro smiled. "I love you, Dashi."

"I love you too." Tadashi watched as Hiro closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, taking a deep breath. GoGo, Honey Lemon, Wasabi and Fred looked at Tadashi as he looked at GoGo and nodded. When he saw she was aiming Hiro, Tadashi closed his eyes as well, unable to watch that scene.

* * *

**I'm sorry.**

**Well, now you see why this took a while. I considered having Tadashi to shoot Hiro, but it just didn't feel right to me.**

**Anyway, I hope you liked this. Sorry for the waiting, and thank you very much for reading! I won't say anything else not to spoil the next chapters :D**

**See yah!**


	12. I wish

**Hello guys, how have you been?**

**I'm sorry this took a while, but I really needed to take a break from writing. My life has been especially busy in this past month, but things are slowly coming back to what they were. Also, I obviously hit a wall with this story. I had to think a lot to decide how to continue this, I hope I did the right choice.**

**This is much shorter compared to some previous chapters, but keep in mind that this is a transition chapter.**

**Thanks for everyone who has been following this; I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

The shot made a noise that, though not very high, was enough to make everyone present cover their ears and close their eyes. Even GoGo, though she could only use one hand since she was holding the gun and therefore her uncovered ear started to hurt.

A gray smoke filled the room, being followed by the sound of coughing. The small explosion was able to push everything in its way a few inches back, and it even knocked Fred who fell over Wasabi. When he regained his balance, Tadashi rushed to the door to open it so that the smoke would leave the house, and he stumbled on a chair and almost fell over on his way due to the fact that his vision was being covered by the smoke.

As soon as the door was open, the smoke started to fly away and soon enough Tadashi could see his friends again, but his vision was really blurry. He rushed to help Wasabi and Fred to stand up and tapped Honey Lemon's back until she stopped coughing. Inhaling that polluted air that was full of chemistry had made them all pretty dizzy, so it took a while for realization to come to Tadashi. When it did, however, he gasped as he turned around and rushed to where Hiro was. In his hurry, he accidentally knocked Fred who fell over Wasabi again.

"Hey!" Wasabi cried out as his back hit the floor, but his expression of pain changed into a worried one when he also remembered what they had just done.

Tadashi stopped in his tracks, chocking when he tried to breathe. His mind was racing so fast he couldn't concentrate on anything. He was so lost in his thoughts that he was startled when Honey Lemon approached him and put her hand on his shoulder, but he quickly looked back at Hiro. GoGo dropped the gun and went to Tadashi's side, being followed by Fred and Wasabi; but they took a little longer because they had had a hard time trying to stand up.

Hiro was on the floor, on the same spot he was before GoGo shot him. He was lying in a fetal position, his arms covering his head as if he had tried to protect himself from something. However, his loose position let them all know that Hiro wasn't awake; his chest was going up and down so slowly that it almost seemed to be still.

"Is he even alive? Ow!" Fred questioned, but cried out when GoGo firmly prodded him with her elbow, motioning for him to be quiet.

Tadashi fell to his knees and attempted to approach Hiro, but just when he was about to move, Hiro woke up. He let out a little grunt as he moved his arm away from his face and got up on his right elbow. After rubbing his brown eyes, he slowly opened them and blinked to adjust his vision that was so blurry that he thought he had gone blind for a second. Once he was able to see again, he raised an eyebrow when he took notice of all his friends and his brother staring at him.

"Uh, what are you all looking at?" Hiro asked with a raspy voice before coughing as he sat up on the floor. He thought of standing up but gave up when he felt that his legs were numb. His head ache something awful and his throat was dry like it had never been before, but physically speaking, he seemed to be fine.

And without a doubt, he was fourteen again.

"Hiro." Tadashi sighed with a smile. He crawled until he was close enough to touch Hiro and sat on his knees in front of his brother, but all he did was look at Hiro for a few seconds. He felt his heartbeat slowing down and allowed himself to breathe normally again as concern left his body. Hiro shook his head and looked at Tadashi's eyes before cocking his head in confusion.

"Why are you-?"

Hiro was interrupted when Tadashi suddenly wrapped his arms around him and brought him closer in a hug. He was confused and looked from side to side when he noticed Tadashi was sniffing as if he was about to cry. Not knowing what to do, he awkwardly started to pat Tadashi's back, but he gasped when his older brother tightened his grip on him and made it a little hard for Hiro to breathe.

"I'm so glad you're fine." Tadashi said under his breath when he pulled away, yet kept his hands on Hiro's shoulders. Hiro raised an eyebrow when he saw Tadashi's watery eyes and huge smile. Then he looked over his brother's shoulder and took notice that all of their friends were looking at him with water filled eyes.

"Would anyone mind to explain me what's happening?" Hiro asked, taking Tadashi's hand off of his shoulder and backing away a little. He felt overwhelmed with all of those eyes staring at him.

Tadashi's expression changed. His smile became a straight line as he gulped. His eyes remained watery, but the joy in them disappeared and was replaced by what seemed to be disappointment. He softly shook his head and took a deep breath, as if speaking required a huge effort. "You mean you don't remember?"

Hiro rolled his eyes and snorted, tired of not getting any answers and feeling the pain in his head increase. "Don't remember _what_?"

Tadashi's heart sank inside his chest and he felt like he was about to cry. He didn't know exactly what he was expecting would happen when they turned Hiro back to his normal age, but he surely hoped Hiro would remember what happened. If he had forgotten everything, then all of the promises they had made each other, all of their talks, all of the moments they had shared that Tadashi hoped would help them to grow closer; everything that had happened that week had been in vain.

As if none of that had ever existed.

"Hum, oh my, look at the time!" Honey Lemon said as she forced a giggle and nodded toward the front door, nudging GoGo's arm. "We should totally be going, our parents must be worried. And it seems that Tadashi and Hiro have some catching up to do too! So yeah, see you soon, Tadashi! Goodbye, Hiro!"

"Oh, yeah, and I'll be taking this with me." GoGo said as she picked up the gun that she had left on the floor. "We don't want to have any other accident now, do we?" She then turned to Wasabi and Fred and noticed that neither of them seemed to be getting the hint that they needed to leave Tadashi alone with Hiro so they could talk.

She and Honey Lemon started to push Wasabi and Fred toward the door. They awkwardly nodded as they waved goodbye to Hiro and Tadashi, even if the Tadashi was still staring at Hiro and didn't even seem to acknowledge that his friends were leaving until GoGo slammed the door shut and he snapped out of it, shaking his head. He looked over his shoulder and saw his friends leaving through the door of glass. Tadashi sighed and stood up, walking up to the door to lock it.

"So, mind to explain things now?" Hiro asked.

Tadashi sighed again and walked back to Hiro, reaching out. Hiro raised an eyebrow and reached out as well, taking his brother's hand and accepting his help to stand up. As soon as he was on his feet Hiro almost fell over, but Tadashi held his arm before he could hit the floor. Hiro looked down at his legs, confused as to why he couldn't walk properly and why he felt like he was sick. He slowly let go of Tadashi's hold when he finally felt able to stand by himself again.

"Come with me." Tadashi said dryly as he turned around and walked to the garage. Hiro tilted his head, but shrugged and followed his brother anyway.

* * *

"Are you going to tell me what's happening or not?" Hiro asked again, annoyed. He was sitting on a chair in the garage and watched as Tadashi seemed to be looking for something he hadn't told Hiro what it was. He seemed to be ignoring Hiro or just not paying enough attention to him; until he opened a closet and seemed to have found whatever it was he was looking for.

Hiro watched with curiosity as Tadashi took a big red luggage from the closet, walking up to Hiro and placing it in front of him.

"What's that?" Hiro asked, straightening himself up on the chair to get a better look.

"A robotic nurse I built. I just want to make sure you're fine." Tadashi looked over his shoulder and his eyes met Hiro's confused ones. "I'll explain later. Baymax, activate."

Hiro's eyes widened when the luggage opened and a white, round and fluffy robot inflated from there. He walked out of the luggage and approached Hiro.

"Wow, that's… That's something." Hiro said with a smile as he nodded and folded his arms in approval. He stood up and approached Baymax to get a closer look, not noticing that the robot was already scanning him. "You even installed a voice control? That's cool. Most people don't do that."

Tadashi chuckled. "It was you who kind of inspired me to make a voice control, actually."

"What?"

"I'm afraid my systems have been damaged." Baymax interrupted, turning to Tadashi. "In my data, it says that Hiro is a five year old kid, when he is in fact a teenager who is close to reaching manhood. I believe I'm not in a position to give any kind of health care until I'm submitted to a checkup and fixed."

"Wait, what?" Hiro blinked. "Why does he think I'm five?"

"Baymax, there's nothing wrong with you." Tadashi said, ignoring Hiro's question. "It's a very long story, but believe me, you are functioning perfectly. I need you to scan Hiro and tell me if there's anything wrong with him. Especially if there's any kind of internal damage or anything like that."

"Why would I even be injured?"

"Scan complete." Baymax interrupted Hiro again. "Hiro seems to be just fine, except for the fact that he has too much sugar in his body right now. He should consider having a healthier diet from now on. I recommend less candy and more vegetables. I will also update the data I have about him to a fourteen year old instead."

"Thank you, Baymax." Tadashi sighed in relief. "That's all I needed from you. I'm satisfied with my care."

Hiro watched as the Robot went back to his luggage and shrank, releasing the air he had inside of him. Once he was done, the luggage closed around him. Tadashi sniffed again as he picked it up and put it back in the closet with a sigh.

"So, a robotic nurse, yeah, pretty cool. Now... Can you please explain to me what's happening here?!" Hiro asked in an explosion. "Why does he think I'm five? Why did I wake up on the kitchen floor? How did you…"

"Hey, calm down." Tadashi said, rolling his eyes. "I'm sorry, ok? You'll understand soon enough. Let's go to our room. You sit down and calm down, and then I'll explain everything that happened, ok?"

Still used to the little Hiro that always obeyed him, Tadashi didn't wait for an answer.

"B-But..." Hiro stuttered as Tadashi softly poked him on the head and walked past him, going back to inside the house. He groaned in annoyance, tired of not getting any answers and being ignored; but followed his brother shortly after.

* * *

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Hiro said, holding up his hands. "Let me get this straight. You and I went to your college so that you could show me that robotic nurse you invented, Baymax; but your lab was locked so you had to go outside to get the key in your motorbike and left me in the college. Then that Fred called me to show me his invention but that went wrong and he ended up turning me to a five year old kid again. And I was a kid for the whole past week until you guys were able to fix that gun today?"

They were both sitting on Hiro's bed and Tadashi had spent almost half an hour to explain everything that happened, which hadn't been easy since Hiro kept interrupting him to ask questions.

"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up." Tadashi nodded.

Hiro blinked and stared at Tadashi for a long time. "You're kidding me, aren't you?"

Tadashi tilted his head and rolled his eyes. Instead of answering, he reached for his phone in his pocket and unlocked it. Hiro watched as his brother opened the gallery and selected the most recent picture he had taken. Once it was on the screen, he handed the phone to Hiro.

Hiro raised an eyebrow as he took the phone, but his jaw dropped as soon as he saw the picture. It depicted the image of a young boy with messy hair and said boy held their cat Mochi on his lap. Hiro recognized the couch behind that boy as being the couch they had in their living room. It took him a whole minute of staring at the picture to finally take in that that boy was indeed him.

"But..."

"I'm not lying to you." Tadashi said. "That's what happened. You were a kid for a week. That happened on the day we left Aunt Cass on the bus station, remember? Actually, she comes back home tomorrow. We should get some rest since we have to wake up early to go pick her up and…"

Tadashi trailed off when Hiro abruptly returned his phone to him and stood up, angrily stomping his foot. Tadashi gasped in confusion and put his hand on his chest in surprise.

"Wow, thank you so much, Tadashi!" Hiro yelled in anger, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Do you have any idea how many plans I had for this week? I was going to go to so many bot fights and Aunt Cass wouldn't be here to stop me! Now she's coming back and you know how much she hovers over me. Do you even know how much money I could have won this week?"

Tadashi's jaw dropped as he stood up and held up his hand. "Wait, seriously? Hiro, that's what you're worried about? I just told you that you were a kid for the last week and… What makes you think I would have let you go to those stupid bot fights anyway if this hadn't happened? You know those are dangerous."

Hiro scowled at his brother. "Yeah, right, sure. I am fourteen and I graduated high school last year, I can take care of myself! Also, don't act like it's a hard thing to escape this house when you're here. You're always in that school anyway! You shouldn't even care for what I do!"

Tadashi bit his lower lip and he started to feel angry. It wasn't common for him to lose his temper, but hearing Hiro say he shouldn't care when all he had done the past week had been to keep Hiro safe made him fold his arms and he started to yell as well. "Well, you can't act like it was my fault!"

"Well, if you hadn't taken me to that stupid college it wouldn't have happened!"

"If you weren't so stubborn all the time I wouldn't have taken you there!"

Hiro stomped his foot again and turned around, looking for his Mega-bot. He found it on his desk and grabbed it, walking toward the door. Tadashi shook his head and jogged to reach Hiro, grabbing him by the hood of his hoodie. "And where do you think you're going, exactly?"

Hiro turned around and pushed Tadashi's hand away from him. "Where do you think? This is the last night I have before Aunt Cass comes back home, I'm going to try to compensate for the week I lost because of you and your friends!"

Tadashi took Hiro's robot from him. "No, you're not going. You're staying home!"

"No, I'm not!" Hiro said as he jumped and took his robot back, making sure to keep it behind his back so that Tadashi wouldn't be able to take it away from him again. "You can't tell me what to do!"

"Hiro, it's past midnight, bot fights are illegal, I'm your older brother and you promised me you would stop doing that! So that means you have to stay!"

"Oh, yeah? When did I even promise that?"

"A few days ago!"

"Hey, I can't remember anything from this week! How can I know that you're not lying about the things I did or didn't do? Go back to working on your stupid robot and leave me alone to my business!" He said as he rushed to the door.

"Hiro, come back here!" Tadashi said running after him. "I'm not letting you throw your life away like that! You should be using that brain of yours to do useful things! You can't…"

"Oh my God!" Hiro face palmed. "Not this again! You know what? Whenever you start with this speech I really start to wish you weren't my brother at all!"

Tadashi's jaw dropped as his body froze at his brother's choice of words. He gulped and bit his lower lip, taking a deep breath. He looked at Hiro with an angry face and then looked to the side, avoiding eye contact. "Go do whatever you want to do, since you don't seem to need me anyway." He said, not yelling anymore.

Hiro's eyes widened as if he wasn't expecting Tadashi to say that. He seemed to hesitate for a few seconds, but then he looked at the open door of their room and ran to it before Tadashi could change his mind, disappearing into the living room.

Tadashi took a few steps back, appalled, before turning around and going to his part of the room. He sat down on his bed and looked around, letting his mind be filled with memories of the past few days. Then, images of the fight he had just had with Hiro started to appear as well, and he slowly started to wrap his brain around it.

As soon as he comprehended what had just happened, he buried his face in his hands and started to cry. His head shot up when he heard a noise that he recognized as being the front door being slammed closed, meaning Hiro had left the house.

Tadashi gasped as more tears rolled on his face.

_What have I done?_

* * *

**What, you thought that Hiro would wake up and tell his brother he was sorry and that he loved him and everything would be fine? Pft, that would be boring! We still have a few chapters to go before this story is done.**

**But let me tell you this: not everything Hiro says is true. Consider it a spoiler.**

**I'm sorry for the angst in this chapter, and maybe it was a little OOC. But I promise everything will be explained very soon.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	13. You're alright

**Hello guys!**

**It has been a while ever since I updated this fic. I was a little nervous because chapter 12 got a lot of positive reviews and I didn't want to disappoint you guys with this. Also, I graduated High School! I'm really happy but also a little sad that it's over. Well, out with the old and in with the new. And my college results come out today. Gosh, do I know how Hiro felt before his presentation now!**

**I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Thanks for reading.**

* * *

Tadashi ran so fast toward the door that when he tried to turn to enter the living room he slipped across the floor and bumped into the wall, losing his balance and falling on the floor with a thud as his cap flew away from him. He let out a cry and wrapped his arms around his head in pain. However, it soon went away when he remembered what had happened. In less than a second, Tadashi shook his head and jumped up, running downstairs.

When he got to the kitchen, Tadashi found the front door to be half-open, the wind made it swing back and forth. Only then, Tadashi noticed it was raining very hard outside; so hard that the kitchen floor was all wet. He gulped and looked around, calling Hiro's name, hoping that his brother had given up on running away when he saw that storm. He waited and panted, but there was no reply. Hiro wasn't there, which meant he had left under that rain.

The first thing that came up on Tadashi's mind was his inner big brother worrying about how Hiro could get a cold under that rain. Moreover, when a loud thunder rumbled outside, it escalated to the thought that Hiro could get _hurt_ if he tried to walk under such storm. Not only that, he had left for a bot fight – and those were dangerous. Panic took control of Tadashi as he looked for his keys, knocking everything else that was on the table before he found them. Then he put on his jacket and rushed outside, slamming the door behind him closed.

Tadashi jumped over the stairs to get to his motorbike faster, but when he did so he slipped on the wet street. He tried to keep his balance, but the raindrops were too many and too strong and pushed his body down. Tadashi fell on the ground, his back hitting the hard concrete curb with the strength of his own weight.

He felt it burning; at first, it felt like a tiny flame that soon became a huge fire and then spread throughout his body. Tadashi's eyes clenched closed and he tried to scream, but his voice was lost in his throat, and he choked when the rain filled his mouth and made it hard to breathe. The dirty water that ran on the road soaked the back of all of Tadashi's clothes, causing him to shiver with the cold. He tried to open his eyes, but the rain got heavier and whenever he tried to do so the drops would hit his eyes painfully.

New strength Tadashi didn't even know he had suddenly came to him when he remembered what he was supposed to do. While he hoped that he hadn't broken or snapped anything, he flipped onto his stomach and rose from the ground, spitting out the water that had gotten in his mouth. His vision was blurred and he staggered around for a while, feeling like his legs were somehow lighter than the upper part of his body. He stood still and waited until he could feel his feet again. His back still hurt from his fall, but at least now, it was possible for him to stand up.

The rain fell from the sky, so heavy that when he looked ahead there didn't seem to be any space between the drops. The light that came from the few houses that still had them on and the streetlights reflected on the water and made it hard for Tadashi to see his path, and he cursed having let his cap fall in his room because it would be useful now.

He shook his head and jumped on his motorbike, inserting the key and turning it on faster than a lightning. He only had been in such hurry when he had to take Hiro to his college because of his allergy. Tadashi shook his head and concentrated on the road. It was already late, so there weren't many cars in the street, which he was thankful for.

Tadashi drove way over the speed limit and looked to the sides rather than looking ahead as he called Hiro's name. He knew that it was almost as if he was asking to have an accident, but on that moment all that mattered was finding his brother.

He drove by all the places where he had already found Hiro before, but all of them were empty; except for one or two lonely bot fighters who cursed the rain as they tried to find a place to shelter themselves. The fights had probably been cancelled because of that weather, so there was no reason at all for Hiro to be in those places.

Images of the fight they had before Hiro ran away went through Tadashi's head like a movie, Hiro's angry voice was echoing inside his mind and he felt like he was the worst older brother ever. He kept on driving as the images of the fight were replaced by images of the previous week, when Hiro was a kid. Tadashi cursed and shook his head, trying to get rid of them, but almost against his will, they kept coming back.

_Afternoon, Dashi._

_I need you, Dashi. Thank you._

_Can you sing me a lullaby?_

_I'm sorry, Dashi._

_I love you, T… Dashi!_

Tadashi grunted, trying to keep his rational part more active than the emotional, but with all that had happened, it was nearly impossible. His hands curled around the handlebars of his motorbike until his knuckles whitened. He needed to control himself and concentrate, he had to find his brother, he had to…

A car horn brought Tadashi back to reality, but he didn't have time to think. His head shot up and his eyes widened; and then before he knew it, he was flung into the air as he heard a very loud clash. Tadashi hit the ground with a wet thud, and he rolled over until he hit several trashcans, hurting his back again.

Now not only he felt a sharp pain in his back, Tadashi's belly was stinging from being scraped against the asphalt when he fell. He also noticed that now his leg was hurting as well. In fact, his whole body seemed to hurt. He sat up on his elbows and looked around, his vision was blurry and the rain made it hard to see anything clearer, but he saw it when the car that had hit him simply turned around and drove away.

Had it been any other day, Tadashi would have run after the car and taken any measures that he found necessary. However, being hit by a car was nothing when he was still trying to find his brother – that could be in danger.

Tadashi groaned in annoyance, thinking that it was pretty much the accident he had had when he was ten, all over again. Thankfully, this time he didn't get unconscious. He looked at his leg and saw that he had a huge cut on it; his blood ran down his ankle and soaked his socks. It was stinging and burning, but not enough to keep him from walking, so he stood up and put his hands to his head, which was pounding like crazy.

Giving up was not something Tadashi did that easily, but he had to admit himself that searching for Hiro alone, in the middle of that rain and without a clue about where Hiro had gone was useless. He had to admit that, even if he was Hiro's big brother, there were things he could not do for him.

It was time to give up and go home. He would have to call the police to ask them help to find Hiro, and Aunt Cass certainly was going to find out that Tadashi let him run away. All Tadashi had to do was watch over his younger brother, and he failed. When he thought of disappointing his aunt, his heart ached. But it ached even more when he realized that Hiro was still out there, somewhere, alone; and there was nothing Tadashi could do to help.

The rain was finally starting to stop, and Tadashi thanked the skies. He looked around and searched for his motorbike. It was on the floor, a few feet away from him. As he approached it, he saw that the front had been damaged and its headlight was broken. The handlebars seemed to be fine, but the key whole had been smashed and now Tadashi couldn't introduce the key, which meant he couldn't turn on his motorbike.

With a sigh, Tadashi pinched the bridge of his nose and pushed his motorbike until it was on the sidewalk, leaving it under the awning of a store to keep it sheltered from the rain. He then reached for his phone in his pocket. The screen was cracked, but thankfully, it still worked. As he unlocked it, he saw it was almost one in the morning.

Feeling guilty, he went to his contacts and called Wasabi. It rang five times before his friend picked up.

"Hum, oh?" Wasabi said with a sleepy voice in a failed attempt to say hello.

"Hey, Wasabi." Tadashi sighed. "I'm sorry to be calling so late, but I need help and I didn't know who else to call."

"Tadashi?" Wasabi grunted.

"Yeah. I'm sorry, I need help. It's ok if you can't, though…"

"What? Help? What do you need help with?" Wasabi interrupted, getting more awake when he began to get worried.

Tadashi sighed again and looked around. "I need you to come and pick me up so I can go home, please. My motorbike broke and I don't have the money for a taxi."

"Pick you up?" Wasabi sat up on his bed. "It's midnight, where are you?"

"I am…" Tadashi leaned forward so that he could see the sign that was being covered by the awning above him. "Street 48. You know, near that huge bank. I'm in front of that pet store. Do you think you can come?"

"Hum, sure, I'm going right now. But what happened? What are you doing there? We left you and Hiro a few hours ago, is he all right? Are you alright?"

"I… I'm fine; Wasabi, and well, I hope Hiro is too. Can you please come, then? I'll explain everything when you're here." Tadashi said as he pressed his back against the shop window and slid to the ground, hoping to make his leg feel better if he didn't stand up.

"Well, hum, ok. I'm on my way. Stay there!"

"Thank you." Tadashi said and hung up. The rain was now gone and everything was silent around him. He looked back at his motorbike and reached out for it, touching it on where it had been smashed. His attention went back to his phone when it beeped, warning him that the battery was low.

Before it could turn off, Tadashi dialed Hiro's number and put his phone to his ear. It began to ring, and it rang several times until a recorded message started to play.

_Hey, it's Hiro Hamada, can't answer right now, blah, blah, blah. Leave a message if you want._

Tadashi didn't say anything; he just sighed and hung up. Hiro was known for never picking up his phone, but that didn't mean Tadashi wasn't worried about him. He stuck his phone down his pocket right before it turned off for low battery and then he hugged his knees, looking up at the sky.

"Please be alright." He whispered to himself, feeling some tears starting to form at the corner of his eyes.

* * *

When Wasabi parked his car in front of the store where Tadashi was, his jaw dropped in surprise, but not because he had seen something amazing.

Tadashi was just terrible. His hair was almost as messy as Hiro's; he had dark circles under his eyes, dirty brown water dripped from his clothes, he had scratches and bruises all over his body and the part of his jeans that covered his right leg was a mess of red and brown under the knee.

"Tadashi!" Wasabi exclaimed. He put his hand on the door handle so that he could leave the car and help his friend, but Tadashi shook his head as in telling him not to do so. Instead, Tadashi quickly walked up to the passenger's seat and entered Wasabi's car, closing the door without saying a word.

"Sorry, I'll probably soil your seat. I can clean it for you tomorrow." Tadashi said, looking ahead with a blank expression as if that was the most natural of all situations and being dirty was the hugest problem he had to worry about at the moment. "Can you take me home now? I need a bath."

Wasabi shook his head in disbelief.

"Tadashi, what even happened to you?" He reached for a tissue – he always had several boxes of those in his car – and handed it to Tadashi. "Are you alright? What happened with your leg? Where's Hiro? What…"

"I screwed up, Wasabi." Tadashi said as he used a tissue to wipe his face, hissing when he touched a cut on his eyebrow that he hadn't noticed before. "I screwed up really badly this time. Can you take me home now?"

Wasabi moved his head, looked at Tadashi's motorbike, and noticed it wasn't all right. "Wait, did you suffer an accident? I think it's better if I take you to a hospital. Also, is your leg bleeding?"

"I am fine." Tadashi rushed out with an angry voice. "I just need to go back home and take a shower, so please, just start driving and take me there!"

Wasabi's eyes widened. He knew that wasn't the usual Tadashi. On their group of friends, Tadashi had always been the one to keep calm through every single situation, and he was the one to come up with solutions to everything. If Tadashi was stressed and nervous, it could only mean that something really bad had happened.

"Alright." Wasabi said. If he knew Tadashi, he was going to calm himself down soon with some time to himself. After that, he started to drive and didn't say anything else, giving Tadashi some personal space.

The ride was silent for a while until Tadashi sighed and buried his face in his hands.

"I'm sorry, Wasabi. I'm so sorry."

"Hey, no need to be sorry." Wasabi replied, smiling at his predictable friend. "But would you be mad at me if I asked what happened again?"

Tadashi sighed and leaned against his seat.

"I screwed up, that's it. I told Hiro about, you know, him being a kid for the past week. He freaked out and I didn't bother to hold him back and then he ran away from home. The genius here decided to go after him under that storm and I got hurt like, three times; until a car hit me and ruined my motorbike. Now Hiro's somewhere out there, under the rain, maybe hurt, and there's nothing I can do to help."

He crossed his arms over his chest. "Some older brother I turned out to be." He uttered under his breath.

Wasabi nodded and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel.

"Tadashi, you can't blame yourself for everything. Hiro's a human being, and he's bound to make bad decisions and mistakes, like everyone is. In fact, I know this isn't the first time he's run away from home, because you always talk about how he escapes all the time to go to bot-fights."

"It's different this time." Tadashi said, biting his lower lip. "I was there, Wasabi. He always escapes when I'm sleeping or busy with something else. But I was there, I was holding him…" Tadashi looked at his hands, helpless. "I was holding him, but I let him go. In fact… I sort of told him to go away, and that I didn't care for him." Tadashi felt someone had stabbed his heart with a sharp knife when he realized what he had said. "If he's in danger now, it's my fault. This is all my fault."

Wasabi stopped at a red light, even if the streets were empty. "Tadashi, you were probably just stressed like you are now. I know how much you love your brother. Especially after what you've been through last week, it's clear that he means more to you than anything else. And I know you'll hate me for saying this, but there are things you can't do for him."

Tadashi pouted and looked at Wasabi with a frown.

"I know," Wasabi continued before Tadashi could interrupt. "I know you want your brother to be alright, and you'll always take care of him, and everything else. I know it all, Tadashi; I was there by your side when you had to take care of him as a kid. But listen to me: you're only human, Tadashi. You are going to make mistakes eventually, like letting Hiro go because you two had a fight. But still, you can't blame yourself for every time he gets into trouble."

Tadashi pretended to be distracted watching the world outside his window.

"How do you know we had a fight?"

Wasabi's car began to move again when the light became green and then he raised an eyebrow at Tadashi.

"You just said you told your brother to go away and that you didn't care about him. That's not the usual you. I'm sure you only said that because you were mad at him and that usually happens when you two fight."

Tadashi smiled and nodded. Wasabi was right. Tadashi never would have told his brother to run away like that if he wasn't mad.

"How do you know so much about my relationship with Hiro?" He asked as he ran his fingers through his wet hair in an attempt to dry it.

Wasabi let out a laugh. "You may not realize it, but you talk about him all the time. Seriously, out of ten words that come out of your mouth, nine or so have to do with your brother."

Tadashi laughed as well, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

"To be honest… I wasn't mad at Hiro. I just…" He forced a chuckle and shrugged. "I don't know. I think I was mad because he wasn't a kid anymore, you know? Like, it's stupid, but deep inside I was hoping we could keep him like that forever. I... I got attached to little Hiro." He sighed. "How stupid of me."

"You're not stupid. To be quite honest, we all were expecting to keep him like that, even if we knew we couldn't. Because of your Aunt Cass and because it wouldn't be right, in the end we had to bring him back. But your brother is smart. I'm sure he's fine."

Tadashi's heart slowed down as he smiled at his friend. "Thanks, Wasabi." He then looked at his leg and noticed it was still bleeding. The cut certainly was deeper than he first thought. "Uh, do you think we could stop in a drugstore or something? I might need some bandage for this thing."

Wasabi nodded and smiled as he turned right, while Tadashi looked at the sky again and hoped his friend was right about Hiro being fine.

* * *

"Thanks a lot for the ride, Wasabi. Sorry about the smudge on your seat." Tadashi said as he left Wasabi's car that was parked in front of the cafe. His leg was now wrapped around several coats of bandage to stop his bleeding.

"No problem, buddy." Wasabi replied as he yawned. "Good luck with everything."

Tadashi nodded and waved goodbye as Wasabi drove away. Then he turned around and looked for his keys in his pocket, picking them up to unlock the door. He almost fell over when he entered the kitchen, forgetting that the earlier rain had made the floor all wet. Luckily he was able to regain balance before he could fall.

"I think I've fallen enough times for the night." He giggled as he walked past the puddle. He made a mental note to clean that mess in the next day, before Aunt Cass arrived.

Tadashi slowly walked up the stairs because of his sore body. As he did so, he pondered about everything Wasabi had said on their way and about everything Tadashi had thought before the ride.

Tadashi knew he was only human, but not where his brother was concerned. For Hiro, he would do things that would be considered crazy or impossible. But his friend was right: Hiro was a human too, he was going to do things that Tadashi couldn't control, and perhaps he did need to give Hiro some more space to grow up.

But Tadashi was still going to call the police to help look for Hiro.

He stopped in the kitchen after the first flight of stairs and reached for his phone. As he did so, he tried to keep himself calm. Maybe he had been an overprotective brother. Sure, what Hiro did was wrong – and sometimes illegal – but aside from the bot-fights, he hadn't really done anything stupid or dangerous.

Hiro wasn't just a toddler who needed to be constantly watched. Not anymore, at least.

Tadashi sighed and pressed his back against the wall, rubbing his head. It was too much to think about at the same time. All he wanted to do was lay down in bed and sleep, but there was no way he was going to do that until his brother was safe, at home.

He lifted his phone to look at the screen, and then groaned when he remembered he didn't have any battery left. The black screen seemed to be mocking him, somehow, but everything around him seemed to be doing the same thing. Because Tadashi felt like a failure realizing he wasn't the perfect big brother he thought he was, or that he tried to be.

With another groan, Tadashi started to go upstairs to his room so that he could charge his phone and call for help. However, he stopped in his tracks when he heard a noise coming from above.

The surroundings were very quiet, aside from the noise that some few lonely drops made when they fell from the sky, so it was very unlikely that he would be mistaken about what he had heard. He had heard a noise, and it had come from his room.

Tadashi looked around and straightened himself up. He tried to calm down by thinking it was probably just Mochi, but that theory died right away when he looked down and saw the cat rubbing his head against his legs.

"Oh, boy." Tadashi whispered. He was all hurt, his motorbike was broken, his phone had no battery and he had lost his brother. Having someone breaking into the house was just what he needed to make that a perfect day.

Tadashi tilted his head and walked up the remaining of the flight of stairs, until he was standing on the doorstep of his room, and carefully peeked inside; trying to be as silent as possible. The room's lights were off, so all he could see were faint shadows; even if he was almost sure he had let the lights on when he left. So far, he hadn't seen anyone in his room, but that somehow only made him more nervous.

"Tadashi?"

Tadashi's heart started to beat fast; first because the sudden call in the darkness startled him, but then it sped up even more when his brain had time to process what had just happened and he recognized whose voice that was.

With a gasp, Tadashi turned around and started to grope the wall behind him, searching for the light switch. After a few failed tries, he managed to find it and soon the lights were on again.

Once the room was illuminated, Tadashi's eyes quickly wandered around until they fell upon his brother.

Hiro was sitting on the floor, with his back pressed against his bed. His clothes and hair were all soaked, and several drops of water ran down his face; but most of them were in fact his tears. He was holding Tadashi's lucky cap in his hands and panting lightly. He also had a scratch on his knee, but it wasn't bleeding or anything. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped as soon as he saw his older brother.

"Hiro," Tadashi said as he let out a relieved sigh and started to walk toward his brother, "There you are. I was about to call the p..."

Tadashi was interrupted when Hiro stood up in a jump, releasing Tadashi's cap; and ran toward him, wrapping his arms around Tadashi and burying his face on Tadashi's chest. Tadashi gasped with the sudden touch, but got even more confused when he looked down and realized that Hiro was crying. And not just sobbing, he was crying out loud; with tears running down his face.

Tadashi shook his head and frowned, confused. He had many things in mind that he still needed to sort out, but all his doubts suddenly lost importance when he realized that his brother was crying.

Putting his hands on his brother's shoulders, Tadashi softly pushed Hiro away until they were no longer hugging, and then Tadashi knelt down and looked up at Hiro, who looked scared and confused. He moved one hand to wipe Hiro's tears away, but soon there were more running down his face. Hiro's chest went up and down fast because of his accelerated breath, and his big brown eyes stared right into Tadashi's.

"Hiro, what's wrong? What happened? Are you hurt?" Tadashi asked, eyeing his brother quickly, but there didn't seem to be anything wrong with him aside from the scratch on his knee.

"I... I thought..." Hiro's lower lip quivered, a few soft noises leaving his mouth when he tried to word his thoughts but failed. He looked to the side and closed his eyes, as if he was ashamed of letting his brother see him like that.

Suddenly, Tadashi seemed to be in front of the little Hiro who couldn't speak because he had had a nightmare, scared and helpless. Tadashi looked down, thoughtful, and then sighed. Taking a deep breath, he wrapped his arms around Hiro and brought him close in a hug. Hiro stilled with the touch, and Tadashi knew he was probably going to pull away like he always did.

However, he didn't.

Hiro wrapped his arms around Tadashi's neck and buried his face on Tadashi's shoulder; kneeling down as well. He was still crying, but he had started to calm down as his heartbeat wasn't fast like before. Tadashi's eyes widened in surprise, but then he smiled and tightened the grip around his brother, slowly positioning himself better to cradle Hiro in his lap.

"It's alright, everything is fine, you're going to be ok." Tadashi didn't know how Hiro had managed to enter the house, or where Hiro had been after they had that fight, he didn't even understand why Hiro was crying so hard. But on that moment, calming him down was all that mattered. And more, Hiro was hugging him - as a fourteen year old. That was almost a historical event.

After a few minutes Hiro stopped crying, tears no longer left his eyes as he took a deep breath. Tadashi expected him to pull away, but Hiro didn't move. He kept hugging Tadashi, rubbing his face on Tadashi's neck. His heartbeat had slowed down, but it was still loud enough for Tadashi to hear it, meaning that Hiro was still not calm enough.

Tadashi wasn't going to pull away until Hiro did so.

Without ever letting Hiro go, Tadashi sat down on the floor and crossed his legs, adjusting his brother in his lap. And just like he had done a few days before, he started to rock their bodies in a comforting motion. Usually Hiro would find that silly, but that night, for some reason, he didn't seem to mind it. He just stayed there, clinging to his brother as if he was his source of life.

"Everything is alright." Tadashi assured him, tapping his back. "You're alright."

Hiro grunted, but didn't say anything.

After a deep breath, Tadashi ran his fingers through Hiro's hair and before he knew it, he was humming the lullaby his mother sang him, and that he sang to Hiro when he was afraid of the storm. If it worked then, it should work now.

Unbeknown to Tadashi, Hiro was whispering the lyrics to that song as his older brother hummed it.

* * *

**Wow, Tadashi centered chapter. It's been a while since I wrote one like this. Well, he is my favorite character, so it was bound to happen.**

**It took me so long to get this done! Both because it was so long (5,000+ words) and because I was just extremely lazy. I mean, I started this over a month ago. I hope you guys enjoyed it, and I hope you do get what that last line is suppose to imply :)**

**See yah next chapter!**

**Update: I took 700 out of 1000 on my test! Can't say I don't wish I had done better, but at least I do stand a chance of getting into the college I want. Wish me luck!**


	14. I promise

**Hey, guys!**

**Before we start, I'll let you know I made it into college! I'm now on my way to becoming a vet. Out of 30 places, I was in the 12nd. Thanks to everyone who wished me good luck, I really appreciate it!**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter! I'm warning you, it may not give you the answers you want, but I promise we'll get to that soon.**

**PS: FelixTheTurtle, I really liked the way you worded your review, so I used your sentence in this. I hope it's ok, thanks for the inspiration!**

* * *

After what felt like hours but in reality were just a few minutes, Tadashi was still sitting on the floor with Hiro in his arms. Hiro had his face against Tadashi's chest and Tadashi held him with all strength he could possibly use without hurting Hiro. The rain outside had finally decided to stop, and so the only sound to be heard now was the low and raspy, yet steady breath of both brothers.

"Hiro?" Tadashi called, softly shaking Hiro; but the only answer he got was a little noise from his brother. Tadashi looked down at Hiro and saw that he seemed to be sleeping, but even like that he refused to let go of his older brother.

Tadashi took a deep breath and adjusted Hiro on his lap in a way that he could see his brother's face, and saw that the younger was indeed sleeping. With a smile in his face, Tadashi softly caressed Hiro's hair, and he could swear that he saw him smile in his sleep. He looked all over Hiro to make sure he was alright, and Tadashi was relieved to see that aside from the scratch on his knee, Hiro didn't have any kind of injuries.

Afraid that standing up so soon would wake Hiro up, Tadashi decided to stay there and wait until he was in a deeper sleep. As he waited, he wondered how Hiro had gotten hurt, and where he had been after their fight. He also wondered how Hiro had managed to enter the house if Tadashi had the only key and he had taken it with him, but when he saw the window of their room open, he rolled his eyes in understanding. Of course, Hiro must have had climbed up on the porch, jumped and grabbed the windowsill. He had done that before, several times, to come back from bot fights without letting anyone know he had left.

Tadashi always told him that if he fell from there he could get seriously injured, but Hiro never listened to him. On the other hand, Hiro had never ever fallen from there, not even once. He couldn't clean his part of the room without making a mess even bigger than the one he was trying to organize, but his abilities to sneak out were beyond comprehension. Tadashi shook his head and looked up, distracted, thinking about all the times Hiro had escaped. What would their parents say about him?

"Dashi...?"

Tadashi bolted upright as he looked down to the sleeping boy in his arms. He examined his brother, as if to make sure Hiro was indeed fourteen years old; which he was. The older one frowned and shook his head, thinking that he should have been hearing things. After a sigh, his frown became a sad face. He knew it was silly to be upset over Hiro being fourteen again, after all, he knew they would have to bring him back to normal in the moment he first saw Hiro as a kid. But still, it felt so good to have his brother needing him again, telling him how much he meant to him and just letting Tadashi in...

"Don't... Go..."

That time, Tadashi saw that Hiro had indeed said something. Upon paying more attention, he realized that Hiro wasn't having a peaceful slumber. In fact, he was rather uneasy in his sleep. He was clinging onto Tadashi, his eyebrows were moving as he frowned and soft noises left his mouth. Tadashi wondered if he was having a nightmare. He knew that little Hiro did have them, and most of them concerned losing Tadashi, like the one where he ran into a burning building that exploded. But what about the normal, teenager Hiro? Did he also dream with that?

Tadashi shook his head. He knew the answer was a probably a negative one. He was just letting his feelings take over, hoping that teenager Hiro was going to be as needy as little Hiro. Hiro didn't really need or care for Tadashi as much as he cared for Hiro, but that was a right of his. It hurt, but there was nothing Tadashi could do to change him. And it wasn't like he didn't love his brother with all of his heart.

Hiro then let out a small gasp. Tadashi started to get worried, but he didn't want to wake his brother up if it was just a nightmare. After all, those didn't mean real danger. Feeling like there was only one thing he could do, Tadashi adjusted Hiro in his lap and tightened the grip he was giving on him, using one of his hands to stroke Hiro's hair as he slowly rocked their bodies together and hummed the lullaby.

To his surprise, Hiro relaxed. In fact, once more he seemed to be smiling in his sleep.

_Always works. _Tadashi thought as he giggled.

Being as careful as he could be so that he wouldn't wake his brother up, Tadashi stood up - which was a little hard to do due to the fact that he couldn't use his hands because they were both holding Hiro - and went to Hiro's bed. He carefully laid his brother there, as if he was carrying the most precious crystal in the world and it would break if he made one wrong move. He had to manually take Hiro's hands off his neck, as if he was refusing to let his older brother go. After making sure Hiro was comfortable and alright, Tadashi reached for the blanket and covered his brother so that he would be warm.

After one last check, Tadashi nodded and turned around. However, he didn't get to give three steps before he stopped and sighed; looking over his shoulder at his sleeping brother. He looked from side to side and then turned around again, approaching Hiro's bed again. He kneeled down by the side of it and caressed Hiro's hair before leaning forward and pressing a quick kiss to Hiro's forehead.

"Goodnight, knucklehead." Tadashi whispered before getting up and walking away, this time with a smile on his face.

Tadashi closed the window that Hiro had left open and then went to his part of the room, slouching down on his bed with his back pressed against the headboard. He let his head fall back and it hit the wall behind him with a thud as he bit his lip and looked to the side; more precisely to the clock on his nightstand. It was now past 1am, and he felt tired like never before. He knew that if he closed his eyes it would be a matter of seconds before he fell asleep. However, he didn't feel like sleeping; not with such soggy clothes.

With a yawn, Tadashi stood up and went to the bathroom. He closed the door behind him with his foot and switched on the faucet; scooping up the running water in his hands and splashing it on his face. He took deep breaths and tried to calm himself down as he braced himself against the sink. He looked up into the mirror and stared at his face's reflection. Aside from the cut on his eyebrow, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with his face.

Tadashi then straightened himself up and took off his shirt. Only then he noticed the scratch he had on his elbow, but thankfully that one wasn't aching at all, even if it stung a little when Tadashi touched it. Maybe it was because the adrenaline was wearing off or because he was now fully concentrated on his body, but it felt like all of his injuries had decided to make themselves known at once. Tadashi felt a sharp pain on his back and turned around, looking over his shoulder to look at the reflection of his back, his eyes widening at what he saw.

There was a huge purple line that went from the back of his neck to the middle of his back, almost exactly following the outline of where his spine was. Tadashi bit his lip and sighed in both relief and shock. He knew that a bruise meant internal bleeding, and that he should consider himself lucky he didn't snap or break anything in that area. The pain he felt was awful, but it didn't keep him from walking or moving. It just made those activities very unpleasant.

After checking his back, he looked down at his leg. Leaning it on the border of the toilet, he freed it from the bandage he had wrapped around it. Luckily his leg wasn't bleeding anymore, but that cut wasn't going to scar anytime soon.

Tadashi sighed and ran his fingers through his hair as he threw the bandage soaked in blood and water in the trash bin. If Aunt Cass saw him like that, she would shove him inside her car and take him to the hospital; even if those were just some slight abrasions.

The thought of taking a shower made Tadashi hiss. He knew that as soon as the hot water hit him, all of his body was going to sting and burn. Still, it seemed to be the best thing he could do at the moment. After all, he was still kind of wet and cold because of the rain, not to mention all dirty because of all the times he had fallen. Making his best not to worsen any of his injuries, he got rid of the rest of his clothing and got under the shower, hoping the noise of running water wouldn't wake up Hiro.

* * *

Tadashi pushed the bathroom door open a crack and peeked out to make sure Hiro was still sleeping, sighing in relief when he saw that he was. With a towel around his waist, he slowly opened the door as far as it would go and left the bathroom in slow, quiet steps; especially when he walked past Hiro's bed.

It took a while, but he finally got to the partition that separated the room in two parts. He slowly pulled it open until he created a space just large enough for him to walk through and entered his part of the room, closing the partition again once he was in.

The first thing Tadashi did was turn on his lampshade so that he would be able to see well. After that, he opened his closet, grabbing his pajamas and throwing them on his bed as he sat down. He made sure his legs were dry before reaching for his shorts and putting them on. So he stood up and grabbed the towel again to dry his hair before putting on his shirt.

"Tadashi?" called a voice from behind him.

Tadashi was rubbing his head with the towel, but the sudden call startled him and he dropped it. The towel fell on the floor as Tadashi turned around, giving a small smile when he saw Hiro standing next to the partition, which he had opened. He had his mouth slightly open and seemed confused.

"Hey, Hiro." Tadashi said, bending down to grab the towel. "Sorry if I woke you up. It's late; you should go back to bed."

"What's that on your back?" Hiro asked, walking past the partition and entering his brother's part of the room, but still not approaching Tadashi.

Tadashi frowned, but his eyes widened when realization hit him. He sat down on his bed and looked over his shoulder, trying to take a good look on the bruise. He didn't notice Hiro was approaching him until he had sat beside Tadashi.

"It's just a bruise." Tadashi shrugged. "Now you really should go back to bed, it's late. We have to go get Aunt Cass tomorrow and-"

"It's not just a bruise." Hiro muttered under his breath, interrupting Tadashi.

Tadashi looked at Hiro with a confused face as he hadn't understood what his brother had said. Hiro was looking down and had sad eyes; and he also rubbed his feet on one another as if he was nervous.

"Sorry, what was that?"

"Did you even see that thing on your back?" Hiro said with an angry voice, yet he seemed to be calm. "It's not 'just a bruise'. It's a really large bruise, and it's on your back. It's right over your spine, to be more specific. You could have die- I mean, you could have gotten seriously injured."

Before Tadashi could say anything, Hiro looked down when something red caught his eye.

"And you hurt your leg too? What did you do, jump out a window or something like that?" Hiro said, scoffing in disbelief. Tadashi was always known for being the safest kid there was. Seeing him hurt almost felt unnatural.

Tadashi rolled his eyes.

"It's just a cut. It's going to scar very soon. And I didn't jump out a window or anything like that. I got hurt when I went outside to look for you, mister." Tadashi giggled as he stood up, patting Hiro's head. Hiro, however, didn't laugh. Instead, he blinked in surprised and shook his head.

"So… You got hurt because of me?" He gulped, looking down at himself and laying his hands on his chest.

Tadashi's eyes widened as he reached out for his shirt and put it on, quickly sitting back by Hiro's side and wrapping one arm around his shoulder.

"Come on, I didn't mean it like that. I, I just explained to you how I got hurt. And you have a scratch on your knee too; I think we're both-"

"That's different." Hiro interrupted, still looking down and never making eye contact with his brother. "I have a little scratch on my knee. It doesn't even hurt. You have a deep cut on your leg and a freaking bruise over your spine. Like, don't you get it? You could have gotten seriously injured if you had broken a bone there, or even snapped your neck, or…"

"Hey, calm down." Tadashi interrupted when he noticed that Hiro was getting more apprehensive with each word he said. He smiled at his younger brother and finally got Hiro to look at him. "I'm fine. It's just a bruise. It doesn't even hurt that much."

Tadashi expected Hiro to smile back at him, but instead he rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Tadashi, can you please just _stop_?" He asked through his clenched teeth.

Tadashi cocked his head and blinked in confusion.

"Stop… What?"

"Stop thinking you're immortal." Hiro rushed out, rolling his eyes again when he saw Tadashi's confused face. "Every single time you get hurt or do something dangerous, you say it was nothing. You say it like bad things couldn't happen to you. You say it like you _didn't matter._ And you have to stop it, because it's not true!"

By the end of his sentence, Hiro was panting lightly and had tears forming on the corner of his eyes. Tadashi gulped and shook his head, unsure of what to do.

"Hiro, I…"

"Hurting your back is no laughing matter!" Hiro yelled as he jumped out of bed and stood in front of Tadashi, looking down at him. "If you had died under that storm, it would have been _my_ fault! Can you please stop acting like you were never going to die? Because you almost did today! And you always say you'll be ok, you'll be fine; well, I bet that's what our parents thought eleven years ago and look at where we are now! So can you please just stop? It was bad enough growing up as an orphan and now you want to leave me alone too?!"

They stood still for a while, Hiro panting and with tears rolling down his eyes from his explosion while Tadashi just stared at him with wide eyes, taking some time to wrap his brain around Hiro's words. Hiro then shook his head and wiped his eyes, sighing.

"I'm sorry. I, I'll go back to sleep now…"

He attempted to walk toward the partition, but before he could even give the first step Tadashi stood up and wrapped his arms around Hiro, who gasped at the sudden touch but slowly melted into it as he returned the hug. He hated it when people saw him crying, but he found himself releasing all of the tears he had been holding back onto his brother's shirt.

"I know I'm not immortal." Tadashi began to say, whispering. "But I wouldn't mind giving my life to save you. What happened with me out there was not your fault. It was my fault for letting you go."

"It was my fault for running away." Hiro whispered back into Tadashi's shirt, his words coming out muffled.

"You ran away because you were mad, and I understand you; what happened last week was not something easy to understand. And I shouldn't have let you go." Tadashi started to stroke Hiro's hair and sighed. "Parents… They should never leave their children, but we can't always choose our fate. But I'm not leaving you. And I promise I'll be more careful… If you can promise me you'll do the same."

Hiro pulled away and looked up at Tadashi, who looked down at him with eyes full of hope and concern. Hiro bit his lip and then shrugged, wiping the remaining of his tears away.

"Ok." It was all he said.

Tadashi nodded with a smile and patted Hiro's back.

"It's late. We should really go to bed." He said, rubbing his eyes. "Is there anything you need?"

"No, not at all, I guess…" Hiro said, walking to the partition and leaving Tadashi's part of the room. "Goodnight, Tadashi."

"Goodnight, Hiro." Tadashi said as he lay down on his bed and made himself comfortable. However, just before he could turn his lampshade off Hiro returned to the partition, peeping his head in. "What's wrong, buddy?"

Hiro entered Tadashi's part of the room again, cleaning his throat. He scratched the back of his neck as if he was embarrassed, looking down at his feet the whole time. Tadashi sat up on his elbows, worried.

"C-Can I sleep with you tonight?" Hiro whispered, folding his arms over his chest as he still looked down, but moved his eyes to look at Tadashi.

Tadashi's eyes widened a little in surprise and he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. For a moment, he wondered if the gun had failed and Hiro was still a kid, but then he saw that the boy standing there was the normal Hiro. Tadashi's heart started to beat fast as he smiled.

His brother needed him.

"Of course." He moved to the side to make room for Hiro and patted the empty space by his side on the mattress. Hiro gave a shy smile as he approached and lay down by Tadashi's side, still not touching his brother. Tadashi reached for the blanket to cover them and made sure they were both tucked in.

"Goodnight." Hiro whispered.

"Goodnight. Don't let the bugs bite you." Tadashi giggled as he turned the lampshade off. He then lay down and closed his eyes; his face in front that of Hiro's.

Hiro lay there awake for a while, blinking his tired eyes as he looked at his sleeping brother.

"Tadashi?" He called after a few minutes.

The lack of reply let Hiro know Tadashi was sleeping. Making his best not to wake him up, Hiro moved as close as he could and tried to snuggle up against his brother's chest; bracing himself against Tadashi. He held his breath for a while, trying to hear his brother's heartbeat. It was low and hard to hear, but it was there.

Tadashi was there.

Hiro sighed and rubbed his eyes, backing away from his brother even if he wanted to stay as close to him as possible. He didn't want Tadashi to wake up and see that Hiro had tried to hug him during the night. He even rolled over so that he his back would be on Tadashi; but he felt guilty doing it.

"Night, Dashi." He whispered to himself.

And after that, he finally fell asleep.

* * *

**This would have been released much sooner had I not lost the last half because my internet went down right when I went to save it. Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I know not much was revealed here, but the pacing has to be just right. I promise you'll get answers soon!**

**See yah next chapter!**


	15. Not anymore

**Well, hello there. It's been a while.**

**This chapter was a bit tough to write. It was going to be longer too, but I decided to only publish part of what I wrote to get back to this, considering how long it's been.**

**For those of you who want to get an update, read the author's note at the end of the chapter. For those of you who are here just for the new chapter, enjoy!**

* * *

When Tadashi opened his eyes that morning, he did exactly as he'd been doing the past week without even thinking about it: he looked to the side to check on Hiro. His heart skipped a beat when he noticed Hiro wasn't there, but soon, it all came back to him.

He didn't need to worry, Hiro wasn't a little kid anymore. He could take care of himself now, Tadashi didn't have to worry about his whereabouts every second of the day.

Even if that meant he could have gone bot-fighting, meaning he'd snuck out in the middle of the night all by himself to go to a dark alley to fight with strangers that were so much bigger than him and could probably break his jaw just by- Ok, maybe Tadashi did need to worry after all.

"Hiro?" Tadashi called as he bolted up in bed, rubbing his eyes. However, once he tried to get up on his feet, the cut on his leg, the bruise on his back and the cut on his elbow seemed to have decided to sting at the same time and made him hiss in pain.

"Ouch," He exclaimed when he recoiled his leg so that he could look at the cut, but his attention was taken away from that when someone called him.

"Tadashi?" Hiro called as he opened the partition, "You awake?"

Tadashi looked up and sighed in relief when he saw his brother standing there.

"Hey, Hiro. Yeah, now I am," He smiled, "How are you?"

Hiro shrugged and looked aside, "Alright."

Tadashi frowned and blinked, Hiro's answer being anything but convincing; but before he could question anything, his phone rang. Slightly startled, he reached for it on the nightstand and bit his lip once he saw who was calling.

"What's wrong?" Hiro asked when he saw his older brother's expression, approaching Tadashi and seating on the bed beside him.

Instead of answering, Tadashi just turned the screen to Hiro so that he could see it. He read the name on the screen and shrugged it off when he saw it was aunt Cass.

"It's aunt Cass, come on, pick it up." Hiro shook his head, confused as to why Tadashi seemed to be worried.

Only then it hit Tadashi that he didn't have to worry about her calls anymore either. For the past week, he got worried whenever Cass called as he feared she might find out what had happened, but that was in the past now.

Hiro wasn't a kid anymore.

"Hey, Tadashi Hamada here," He said as he finally answered the call, trying to clean his head off the confused thoughts he was having.

"Hi Tadashi!" Aunt Cass greeted, "How's everything going?"

"Good, good," He said as he yawned and stretched his body.

"Sleepy, are we?" Cass chirped from the other end.

"A bit, yeah. Just woke up," Tadashi chuckled. "But how's grandma? Is everything ok?"

"Oh, she's alright. I told you it was just a cold, she exaggerates everything." Cass rolled her eyes, "Anyway, I'm getting the bus today, I think I'll get there around 2pm. Think you can go pick me up on the station by then?"

"Sure, we'll be there!" Tadashi smiled.

"Good," She smiled, "Is Hiro awake?"

Tadashi looked to the boy seating by his side, who merely watched as Tadashi spoke, "Yeah, he is."

"Can I talk to him, then?"

"To Hiro?" Tadashi's heart began beating fast. Ok, what excuse would he give her this time?

"Does she want to talk to me?" Hiro asked when Tadashi said his name on the phone, confused by the silence that followed.

Tadashi shook his head, trying to come back to reality.

"Oh, yeah, sure you can," He smiled awkwardly before handing his phone to his younger brother.

"Hi, aunt Cass," Hiro said, but Tadashi didn't pay attention to what he said after that. Instead, the older Hamada stood up from his bed and went to the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

He'd forgotten to check for the time, but looking outside he assumed it couldn't be much later than eight in the morning.

Tadashi leaned on the sink and splashed his face with cold water, trying to wake himself up. He'd manage to sleep well the past night, but he still felt so tired and sleepy that it was hard for him to keep his eyes open. Perhaps he didn't get enough hours of sleep.

He sighed and looked up, his eyes meeting those of his reflection on the mirror behind the sink. He looked tired, with dark bags under his eyes. Drops of water ran down his face, from his forehead to his chin, before dripping on the floor. His hair was still messy from waking up; and when he tried to fix it with his hand, all it did was pop back up.

Tadashi shook his head and threw some water on his hair with his hand, hoping to get it to look more presentable if he did. The water did make his hair go down, but before he could use a comb to fix it properly, Hiro knocked on the door.

"Tadashi?", He called from the other side, "Someone's calling your phone."

Tadashi then opened the door and looked down at Hiro as his brother held out the ringing phone for him to grab.

"Thanks, Hiro," He smiled and Hiro nodded, going back to their room to use his computer. Tadashi looked back at his phone, answering the unknown number. "Hello?"

"Tadashi Hamada?" A man asked from the other end, mispronouncing Tadashi's name.

"That's me," He said as he left the bathroom and went back to his room, grabbing a towel on his way there to remove the excess water from his hair and dry his face, "Who is it?"

"Hello, my name is Sanjay, I'm calling from the police department."

"Police department?" Tadashi raised an eyebrow and looked at Hiro. Hiro picked up his brother's words and looked to Tadashi with an apologetic smile. He didn't think he'd done anything wrong in recent times that would have the police call on him, but better safe than sorry. "What can I help you with?"

"We received a call from someone who said they found an abandoned, beaten up motorcycle in front of their store today. We picked it up and ran the plate, we believe it belongs to you."

Tadashi was confused for a while until it hit him. "Oh, my motorcycle, I completely forgot!"

Hiro sighed in relief and turned his attention back to his computer when he realized the conversation wasn't about him.

Tadashi rolled his eyes and smiled, and then the man spoke up again, "It's been considerably damaged, and one witness says there was an accident in that street yesterday. You need to come forth to pick it up and answer a few questions as soon as possible."

Tadashi looked at the watch on the wall and saw that it was almost 9am. He quickly made some calculations in his mind and concluded that there was enough time for him to solve that and come back home before he had to go pick up Cass.

"I'll be going there right now," He informed the cop, and after a quick thank you, he hung up. "Hey, Hiro?"

Hiro used his heels to turn the spinning chair to look at his brother, "Yep?"

"I need to go get my motorcycle. Think you'll be alright while I'm out?"

Hiro raised his eyebrow and tilted his head. "Uh, sure? I think I can take care of myself, Tadashi. You don't need to worry."

Tadashi's eyes widened when he realized, he'd done it again. He really did need to find a way to get reality through his head and acknowledge that Hiro was not a kid anymore. Why was that being so hard for him to grasp, anyway?

"What happened to your motorcycle?" Hiro asked.

"Oh, hum," Tadashi shook his head, "Yesterday a car hit me when I was out looking for you. It damaged the key hole and then I couldn't use it to come back home, so I called Wasabi to help me."

Hiro's face drained of color and his smile became a thin line.

"You got hit by a car?" Although he had his eyes on Tadashi, he wasn't looking his brother in the eyes. Rather, it felt like Hiro was now looking at something behind Tadashi.

"Oh," Tadashi's eyes widened, "It wasn't anything serious, just, it made me fall and scratched my motorbike-"

"So that's how you got all hurt, huh?" Hiro interrupted.

Tadashi frowned, "Well, not all hurt, I just-"

"Oh, you just got a huge cut on your leg and bruised your entire spine, yeah, that's nothing alright," Hiro scoffed, interrupting Tadashi a second time.

Tadashi couldn't tell what Hiro's voice tone or expression meant in that moment. All of what he was saying felt disconnected with the talk they were having or the situation.

"What?" He tilted his head.

As if a switch had gone off, Hiro's eyes widened and he shook his head, spinning the chair around again to face his computer once more.

"Whatever, go get it. Hey, you should bring us some food when you're back, you know? There wasn't much left for breakfast. And I might have eaten your part, oops." He forced a chuckle as to lighten up the mood.

Tadashi blinked in silence, staring at his brother's back.

"Uh, alright then," He shook his head and walked to the door, grabbing his jacket and his keys on his way out, "I'll be back soon. Remember we have to leave by 2 to go pick aunt Cass."

"Yeah, sure, sure," Hiro gave him a thumb up without ever looking away from his computer, and Tadashi could tell that he hadn't listened to a word he had said. The older Hamada just chuckled and shook his head, leaving at last.

Hiro didn't look away from his computer until he heard the door opening and closing downstairs, meaning that Tadashi was gone.

"Tadashi?" He called.

The silence that followed made him nervous. Hiro told himself that he shouldn't worry, but he still could feel a stinging feeling in his chest, as if several strings were being tied around his heart and tugging on it, but he tried to ignore it.

_I'm being stupid. He's going to be alright._

As if to taunt him, his mind flashed images on the previous night, when Hiro walked in on his brother shirtless and saw the huge bruise he had on his spine.

_He has to._

* * *

"It wasn't really that big of a deal," Tadashi told the police officer sitting across him, who'd asked why he hadn't informed the police about his accident, "And I didn't really get hurt. That's why I didn't place charges or anything. Besides, I had other priorities in that moment."

The man nodded and wrote down Tadashi's words on a file, but then he stopped and looked up at him.

"Other priorities?" He questioned, tapping his pencil on the table.

"Oh, yeah," Tadashi sighed, "I was looking for my brother. We… had a fight last night, and he got mad so he ran away."

"I see," He nodded again and wrote some more, "What happened after that?"

"Well," Tadashi looked up, recalling the events of the previous night, "I tried getting back on my motorbike, but I realized it was too damaged to ride; so, I called my friend and he picked me up. Then I went back home, and now I'm here."

The officer sighed and closed the file he'd been writing on, "You sure you didn't catch the plate or anything?"

Tadashi shook his head, "No, I'm sorry. It all happened too fast, and it was too dark; and I wasn't really paying attention to that."

"Well, that will be all then. Guess we'll have to rely on what the security cameras have to tell us." The man said hopelessly as he placed the file on a pile by his side, and then he reached out to Tadashi, "Thank you so much, Mr. Hamada."

"You're welcome," Tadashi smiled and shook his hand.

"You may leave now," He informed him, "Go all the way down the hallway, third door on the left. You can retrieve your motorbike there if you wish."

Tadashi bit his lip, "Actually, I came here by bus. If I get it now, I'll have to push it all by myself all the way home. Can it stay here until I can get someone to help me?"

"Oh, sure, don't worry about it," The man waved his hand as in to dismiss the topic. Tadashi muttered a thank you and stood up to leave, but stopped when the officer called him again. "Wait, Mr. Hamada."

"Yes?"

"I almost forgot, but we also found this at the scene," He spoke and leaned down to open a drawer. He began fidgeting with whatever was inside it as he tried to find what he was looking for.

Tadashi tilted his head, tip-toeing and leaning forward to try to get a look at what the man was looking for.

"Here," He said when he found it, "Does it belong to you as well?"

Tadashi blinked in surprise when the officer held out a small bot, which he recognized as being Hiro's.

"Uh, yes," He took it in his hands, "Well, not to me, but to my younger brother. But…" He looked down at it, "This doesn't make sense."

"What?"

Tadashi shook his head and realized he was talking to himself.

"Nothing," He spoke up, "Yeah, this belongs to my brother. Can I take it, then?"

"Sure. And come pick your motorbike whenever you can, just remember to bring your ID so that you can retrieve it. We'll let you know about any news on the case."

Tadashi gave the man a thankful smile and turned around, leaving the station with the bot in his hands. While he walked down to the bus station he fidgeted with it, trying to understand how it could have possibly gotten there with his motorbike. He was pretty sure Hiro has taken it with him when he ran away. That was something he would ask his younger brother when he got home.

* * *

**Thank you for reading!**

**So, onto the update.**

**It's been really long since I updated this, and I believe most of you followed what was going on the past couple months. Firstly, I'd like to thank you all so much for all the lovely messages and reviews that I got wishing me the best! All of them mean so much to me and they really brought me up when I was down.**

**Health wise, I'm getting better. I'm still on many medications, but it's getting better nonetheless. Physically, my broken foot healed a 100%, which is great! I was really scared of it not healing properly.**

**Some other news I have is that I moved in with my sisters and went back to school after dropping it last year – and we adopted a kitty! He's a fatty and he wakes me up every day at 5am day and I love him. His name is Cookie!**

**I watched Big Hero 6 again for the first time in over a year last week, and it honestly brought me so many emotions. Those who followed what happened will know why that was hard for me. Ever since, I tried getting back to writing this, and this was the result.**

**I feel like my writing style changed a lot, and I'm not exactly confident publishing this after ignoring this story for so long – which is why I made it shorter. Please let me know how I did!**

**Yeah, that's about it, I hope you guys enjoyed this, even if just a little. Feel free to message me if you want to ask or tell me anything! Thank you so much for reading, sorry for the long hiatus, and know that your support means the world to me!**

\- **Dell.**


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